CHROMOBLASTOMYCOSIS: A NEW AND IMPORTANT BLASTOMYCOSIS IN NORTH AMERICA

Abstract

It is the main purpose of this paper to publicize the rapid expansion of the geographic distribution of chromoblastomycosis and to indicate the enlarging scope of the morbid anatomic changes. For a long time the known tissue changes remained almost entirely those of verrucous dermatitis of the legs, but during the last seven years data have been accumulated from a number of cases which have shown different pictures frequently enough to demonstrate that the dermatologic features of the disease are not uniform and simple. Asthere is promise that the range in gross tissue reaction will eventually compare with that of tuberculosis, syphilis and other members of the group of specific infectious granulomas, dermatologists should consider the possibilities of this disease when encountering atypical granulomatous conditions the cause of which is doubtful clinically. The case that we report from Philadelphia was one of this kind; the histologic picture was a surprise.