Twentieth century practice v 18 1899 Author:Unknown Author Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LEPROSY. PRINCE A. MORROW, NEW YORK. Vol. XVIII.—26 LEPROSY. Synonyms.—Lepra; Elephantiasis Graecorum; Leontiasis, Saty- riasis; French, Lepre; Ge... more »rman, Aussatz; Norwegian, Spedalskhed; Spanish, Elefantiasis de los Griegos; Italian, Elefantiasis dei Greci, Lepra, Lebbre; Latin, Lepra vera, Elephantiasis; Hebrew, Zaraath (Tsaraath); Sanscrit, Kushtha; Egyptian, Uchetu. Definition.—Leprosy (from Greek, texpa) is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacillus leprse, characterized by erythematous and pigmentary changes in the skin and the production of tubercular nodules containing bacilli in the cutaneous tissues and mucous membranes, and by irritative and degenerative changes in the nerves, with implication of the lymphatic ganglia and internal viscera and the supervention of a profound cachexia which leads to a fatal termination. Types of Leprosy. The bacilli of leprosy, like the germs of other infectious diseases, when they have gained access to the organism, affect particular structures and spread from one organ to another along certain definite tracts, producing changes in the tissues which are characteristic and peculiar to the morbid process. These changes consist of diffuse or circumscribed infiltrations, and the clinical picture varies according to the localization of the lesions in the integument or in the nerves. Two principal forms of leprosy are recognized. When there is a determination of the morbid process towards the cutaneous and mucous membranes in the shape of macules and nodules, it is termed tubercular or tegu.menta.ry; when it is centred upon the peripheral nerves, it is termed aniesthetic, trophoneurotic, or nerve leprosy. These two forms, although etiologically identical, exhibit marked differences in their objective characters,...« less