Observations on the various forms of superficial dermatitis : particularly erythema, eczema, psoriasis, lichen, and pityriasis rubra with cases / by P.H. Pye-Smith.

  • Pye-Smith, Philip Henry, 1840-1914.
Date:
[1881?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the various forms of superficial dermatitis : particularly erythema, eczema, psoriasis, lichen, and pityriasis rubra with cases / by P.H. Pye-Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    2. Though few, if any of us, in England have seen a case of universal and chronic Lichen ruber as Hebra described it, yet he carefully, and apparently with justice, distinguished it from Pityriasis rubra. 3. We may find the characteristic anatomical characters of exfoliative dermatitis or “ Eczema foliaceum,” not as a universal but as a local affection. Of this I shall give several examples presently (p. 272). 4. Pemphigus foliaceus is not ever, I believe, universal; it is almost limited to women; and its obstinacy and the con- siderable and often foetid discharge explain its constitutional effects : whereas some of the most marked cases of Pityriasis rubra, free from irritation, and almost from apparent, inflam- mation of the skin, are yet productive of grave internal effects. 5. That the whole of the skin may be occupied by a thick scaly disease without interference with health is proved by many cases of Ichthyosis. I have now under my care, in Miriam Ward, a child whose entire skin, from head to foot, including the palms and soles and scalp, is occupied by the severest form of Ichthyosis cornea; and she suffers greatly from itching. Yet she has an excellent appetite, sleeps well, and is fat and firm in flesh. The urine is free from albumen and, in fact, she is not “ bodily ill ” at all. The course of opinion upon the nature and limits of Pity- riasis rubra has been even more divergent in France than in England. Some dermatologists accept Devergie’s term in nearly his meaning. Bazin writes of a “ Pityriasis rubra aigue generalisee qui s’etend a la presque totalite du corps,” and the abundant exfoliation of large scales which he describes con- firms the belief that this is Devergie’s, Hebra’s and Wilson’s disease; but he also describes a “ Iierpetide exfoliatrice,” and the case so named by M. Guibout (No. 19 in the table at the end of this paper) is certainly one of Pityriasis rubra. Hardy describes1 Pityriasis rubra in Willan’s, or rather, perhaps, in Cazenave’s, sense of the term, as a branny desquamation on a red skin, commonly occupying the head and neck, but “ quel- quefois toute la surface du corps.” General symptoms not unfrequently accompany it, especially fever and digestive derangement. These last two characters recall Devergie’s 1 ‘ Leijons,’ p. 125,