Premium
Skin temperatures of the normal arm, hand and fingers in relation to the distribution of bacilli in lepromatous leprosy
Author(s) -
Cöloḡlu A.S.,
MCDOUGALL A.C.,
PARKER MJ.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
clinical and experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1365-2230
pISSN - 0307-6938
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2230.1981.tb02321.x
Subject(s) - phalanx , forearm , leprosy , lepromatous leprosy , medicine , dorsum , anatomy , bacilli , dermatology , biology , genetics , bacteria
Summary Recent publications have shown that the dorsal skin of the fingers (and toes) are important sites for bacilli in patient with the lepromatous form of leprosy. In order to further define the role of temperatures as a factor accounting for the presence of bacilli in fingers, measurements with a thermistor probe have been made on 100 healthy subjects, on the proximal, middle and distal phalanges, and on the back of the hand and the front and back of the mid‐forearm. There was no statistically significant difference in the readings for the three phalanges. On the left side of the body there was a significant difference between the three phalangeal positions and the back of the hands, but on the right side this was observed for the proximal phalanx only. The clinical and research significance of the findings are discussed.