l. l. Group of Hospita is, Bombay, lndia Forty-five scrotal skin and underlying dartos biopsies from leprosy patients of varying types, duration and treatment status were examined for quantitative bacteriology and qualitative histology. 33% on homogenization and 34% on histology were positive for acid fast bacilli. The average bacillary loadjg of positive tissue was 1.5 X 10 7 45% of scrotal biopsies were positive against 42% of the skin patch when examined for qualitative changes diagnostic of leprosy. These changes were more marked in the scrotal biopsies in the borderline and lepromatous types. They were chiefly restricted to the neurovascular bundles with unaffected smooth muscle. A stained smear obtained from scrotal skin homogenate is recommended for bacteriological diagnosis as a superior method than routine multi pie skin smears or nasal scraping. Repeated use of scrotal biopsies is emphasized when frequent observations of neurological changes are necessary.
Over 25 million people in the World have leprosy. In the lepromatous form of the illness the nose is involved at a very early stage and in this paper the clinical manifestations are described. The nasal discharge in early untreated lepromatous leprosy contains vast numbers of the causative bacillus (M. leprae) and the important implications of these observations are discussed.
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