HISTOPLASMOSIS OF THE KNEE

Abstract

Histoplasmosis or reticulo-endothelial cytomycosis is a generalized disease which varies widely in its clinical characteristics, and is caused by the histoplasma capsulatum of Darling. This organism was discovered by Darling in 1906 while he was searching for evidence of kala-azar in smears from the spleen, liver, and bone marrow of all patients showing splenomegaly, who came to autopsy at the Ancon Hospital. Darling noted the similarity of the organism to the Leishman-Donovan body of kala-azar, but pointed out that it differed from this in the form and ar-rangement of the chromatin of the nucleus, and in that it did not possess a blepharoplast. Meleney, in a review of the subject, notes that no further cases were recorded until 1925 when a case was discovered in Minnesota; in his paper he reviews the nineteen cases in the literature, and adds thirteen new cases. He states that while the disease is rarely diagnosed, it is probable that it is considerably more frequent than is supposed, that it is widely dis-