LEPRA MACULOSA

Categories: Infectious Diseases

This form is more common in tropical countries and is
distinguished chiefly by its macular (spotty) lesions. In size they vary

from a small coin to areas as large as a platter. They are diffused or

circumscribed, roundish or shaped irregularly, yellowish, brownish or

bronzed in color, often shiny or glazed. They may be infiltrated and may

be elevated, or on a level with the adjacent tissues. The patches are

usually at first very sensitive, but they finally become insensitive, so

that a knife can be thrust deeply into them without being felt. The

regions chiefly affected by this type are the back, exposed parts, the

backs of the hands and wrists, the forehead, the cheeks, ears, back of the

feet, and ankles. The eruptions may be scanty or general; conspicuous or

insignificant. The eruptive symptoms are associated commonly, early or

late, with the serious phenomena described below.