slightly scaly eruption. Several such areas fusing together
may cover a large part of the surface, the ring-like arrangement being
sometimes more or less completely lost. The malady is chronic. There may
be a variable degree of itching. The cause of the disease, which is of a
contagious nature, is a vegetable parasite closely similar to the
trichophyton. The treatment is by the parasiticides, being essentially
the same, in fact, as ringworm.

#Tinea Versicolor.#
(_Synonyms:_ Pityriasis Versicolor; Chromophytosis.)

#What is tinea versicolor?#

Tinea versicolor is a vegetable-parasitic disease of the skin,
characterized by variously-sized and shaped, slightly scaly, macular
patches of a yellowish-fawn color, and occurring for the most part upon
the upper portion of the trunk.

#Describe the symptoms of tinea versicolor.#

The disease begins as one or more yellowish macular points; these, in
the course of weeks or months, gradually extend, and, together with
other patches that arise, may form a more or less continuous sheet of
eruption. There is slight scaliness, always insignificant and
furfuraceous in character, and at times, except upon close inspection,
scarcely perceptible. The color of the patches is pale or
brownish-yellow; in rare instances, in those of delicate skin, there may
be more or less hyperaemia, and in consequence the eruption is of a
reddish tinge. The number of patches varies; there may be but a few, or,
on the other hand, a profusion. Slight itching, especially when the
parts are warm, is usually present.

#Does the eruption of tinea versicolor show predilection for any special
region?#

Yes; the upper part of the trunk, especially anteriorly, is the usual
seat of the eruption, but in exceptional instances the neck, axillae, the
arms, the whole trunk, the genitocrural region and poplitea, and in rare
cases even the lower part of the face, may become invaded.

#What course does tinea versicolor pursue?#

Persistent, but somewhat variable; as a rule, however, slowly
progressive and lasting for years.

#To what is tinea versicolor due?#

To a vegetable fungus--the _microsporon furfur_.

The affection is tolerably common, and occurs in all parts of the world.
With rare exceptions, it is a disease of adults, and while looked upon
as contagious, must be so to an extremely slight degree.

[Illustration: Fig. 73.
Microsporon Furfur x 400. (