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DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 



Observations upon the delations Existing between Prurigo, Pruritus, 



and Eczema. 



1. In man we designate under the name of prurigo sl papulous 

 cutaneous eruption, which is preferably located on the surfaces of 

 the lower members. Prurigo is almost exclusively observed in 

 very young children : it is accompanied by intense itching ; its 

 course is chronic; it is hereditary. After having persisted for 

 several years it leaves special alterations on the skin (thickening, 

 pigmentation, etc.). It is only curable in a minority of cases. 

 Many patients succumb to the continual and intense itching, the 

 permanent excitement, and to the progressive exhaustion which is 

 produced. It is generally admitted that this eruption, which has 

 very distinct characters, exists in our animals ; works on special 

 pathology mention it under the title of pruriginous eruption. It 

 does not seem to us that we are warranted in describing in our 

 veterinary literature a cutaneous affection corresponding with the 

 prurigo of man, for the following reasons : 



a. Monographs of prurigo given by veterinarians are contradic- 

 tory in their essential outline ; in going through them we have 

 become convinced that some authors have manufactured a prurigo 

 of animals; several have, moreover, obtained their information 

 from one and the same source.- 



b. The disease claimed to have been observed on the horse, the 

 dog, the ox, and the sheep, does not at all correspond in its symp- 

 toms, causes, and course, to the prurigo of man ; it is, indeed, 

 impossible to find anything typical at all in the description of 

 pruinginous eruption of animals. 



c. The causes given are as diverse as they are flimsy : anomalies 

 of diet, digestive troubles, heating food, changing frdm a poor 

 nutrition to one very nourishing, acidity of the blood, shedding, 

 microbes, etc. It is claimed that micro-organisms have been 

 found, as in eczema. 



d. We have never observed true prurigo in the subjects of our 

 different species, and many cases reported under this name were 

 certainly nothing else but papular eczema ; the symptomatology of 

 a large number of them answers exactly to that of this latter affec- 

 tion; concerning chronic and incurable cases, they belong to the 

 list of the different kinds of manges. In the interest of accuracy 

 of description, and in order to remain within the domain of facts, 



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