G. H F. Nuttall 
93 
pits. Girard (1885, p. 1084) writes that lice occur in these situations 
and upon the hair of the legs, besides in the clothing and its seams; 
he cites some of the well-known instances of so-called phthiriasis or 
“maladie pediculaire” in which corporis has been seen to occur in vast 
numbers upon the body (see p. 69). Boral (1915, p. 645) cites Flusser 
of the Military Hospital at Mahrisch-Weisskirchen, to the effect that 
they shave all patients there because corporis nits occur on the pubic 
and axillary hair. Brauer (1915, pp. 561-562), in Germany, writes 
that contrary to what is stated in the text-books, corporis does occur 
on the body; he attributes to this the failure of prophylactic measures 
directed solely against lice in clothing. He states that most people 
harbouring these lice in their clothing have lice also on their bodies; 
at times large numbers of their nits are found on the hair of the pubic, 
peri-anal and axillary regions, and he has seen the nits on the hair of 
the thigh and leg. He saw corporis (not Phthirus pubis) hatch from 
such nits, and concludes that prevailing conceptions regarding the habits 
of so-called clothes-lice will have to be altered. Muller (1915, p. 52), 
in Austria, like Brauer, has found nits upon the hair of the pubis and 
axilla. Finally Heymann (18. vm. 1915, p. 304) states that in severe 
infestations corporis occurs all over the body and clothing, citing Hase 
and a personal communication to this effect from Wodermann. In 
the note on the geographical distribution of corporis (see p. 83) I have 
already mentioned specimens collected from the axilla and the hair of 
the head of negroes in Africa. 
Apart from the last mentioned instance, there are no cases apparently 
recorded of the occurrence of corporis upon the hair of the head. Denny 
(1842, p. 17) never saw or heard of a case and I can find no record of 
a similar case in the literature. There seems to me no valid reason 
why they should not occasionally invade the province of capitis and 
they may be found more frequently on careful examination. 
The foregoing instances of the parasitism of corporis upon the body 
should suffice to convince the reader, since they emanate from indepen¬ 
dent eye-witnesses. It will doubtless take some years before the fact 
is mentioned in text-books, some of which appear to take pains to 
perpetuate errors, merely because the authors will not consult original 
sources. 
