A Clinical Study of the Nose in Lepromatous Leprosy

Abstract

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.