The oriental sore, as observed in India : a report / by T.R. Lewis and D.D. Cunningham.
- Timothy Richards Lewis
- Date:
- 1877
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The oriental sore, as observed in India : a report / by T.R. Lewis and D.D. Cunningham. Source: Wellcome Collection.
46/74 page 38
![[ ] a shiny, slightly elevated, wheal-like belt of indurated tissue may be observed to encircle the sore, covered with a thin cuticle, and presenting an appearance not unlike that of the indurated tissue forming the margins of a lachrymal sinus, or other fistulous orifice. When a poultice is applied, the softened parts become „ ^ pufi'y; the adherent scab, w'hen pre- sent, becomes loosened, and tlie sore bulges forward, often considerably beyond the level of the surrounding parts so as more or less to resemble a boil or, even, a carbuncle. This condition is represented in the accom- panying sketch—the chromolithograph of wdiich, how- ever, is somewhat too hard and diagrammatic (Plate I, Pig. 1). The normal colour of the scab is yellowish. Owing, however, to the various nostrums applied, it seldom presents its natural tint, but ranges from a greyish-yellow to various shades of black. It is difficult to fix upon any particular age at which the The age of onset. manifests itself most frequently. Prom puberty to 30 may be mention- ed as the time of life during which we ourselves have most frequently witnessed the disease, but we have likewise seen it in persons whose ages ranged from 2 to 55 years. As in the case of the ‘ Oriental sore ’ described in other localities and countries, so also in the sore as met with in Delhi, one of its leading features consists in the chro- nic course which it runs. It may last from a month or two to several years, but perhaps six to eight months may be set down as its average duration when not aggravated by improper local and other treatment. When it heals, a permanent pinkish-white or pale-yellow scar marks the site and area of each sore. Dr. C. H. Y. Godwin, in a report on the subject in 1865, thus describes the pseudo-healing process so frequently witnessed during the course of the disease, and which so often only results in disappointment: “'When,” writes Dr. GodAviu, “commencing to heal, it does so by filling up in the centre, and not from the circumfer- ence ; but the great tendency is to dry or scab over, and this leads the jjatient often to think that liis sore has at last healed : not so, however ; this surface breaks dorni again and again, leaving each time an ulcerated surface larger than before.” The chronic character of the sore.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28709615_0046.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
