163
354. |
SCORBUTUS. Model of the
inner side of the left thigh, knee, and leg of a man
affected with scurvy. Numerous small purpuric spots
may be observed upon the thigh and knee, and on the
ham and calf there are large vibices. |
The patient was an inmate of the Dreadnought Hospital
Ship.
355. |
SCORBUTUS.
Model of the right arm and forearm of a man, showing
numerous scattered purpuric spots, most of which are
of very small size. In the flexure of the elbow there
is a diffuse staining, which perhaps represents one
of the subcutaneous vibices so frequently seen in
scorbutus. |
The patient was on board the Dreadnought.
MELASMA.
The name is applicable to any case occurring in a
member of the white races of mankind, and attended
with a dark brown or blackish discoloration of the
skin.
One form of it was shown by Dr. Addison to be
dependent upon a destructive (and probably tuberculous)
change in the supra-renal capsules; this may be
distinguished as melasma supra-renale. In it the
distribution of the colour presents the peculiarity
that it is either an exaggeration of a natural
pigmentation, or else corresponds with some abnormal
pigmentation, which, however, may occur even in a
healthy individual provided that the skin be exposed
to a sufficiently intense and prolonged stimulation.
In other words, the brown or black coloration of the
skin in melasma supra-renale is often exactly like
that which is seen in the dark races of mankind,
or which may arise even in a white man who has for
years been in a hot climate under the influence of
the rays of a tropical sun. It generally affects
chiefly parts exposed to the air, such as the face,
the neck, and the backs of the hands; and the nipples
and genital organs, which are normally pigmented in
a slight degree, become of a very much darker colour.
Or, again, the distribution of the pigment may
resemble that which may be caused in any one by the
heat of a fire (ephelis ab igne); of this I have seen
a well-marked example. Parts which have been blistered
also assume a much darker colour than in healthy
persons. Minute black scattered
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