Myringomycosis aspergillina (fungus ear diseases) / by James Patterson Cassells.

  • Cassells, James Patterson, 1837-1884.
Date:
1875
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Myringomycosis aspergillina (fungus ear diseases) / by James Patterson Cassells. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    potato and disinfected cork by their discoverers, Hassenstein, Hagen, and Hallier, and not found in a fully developed state in the ear, it seems not improbable that the three first- named varieties of Aspergillus, which have been found developed in this situation, are the true aural fungi. The characteristic structural peculiarities of the asper- gillus fungi make it an easy matter to differentiate between them. Thus, in the Asp. flavus, the spore bearing sterigmata leave about Jth of the under part of the receptaculum un¬ covered, while in the Asp. nigr. these cover the whole receptaculum. Again, the difference between these and the Otomyces purpurea consists in these having no capsular sporangia, or asci, which the last named variety has. Glancing for a moment at the history of the discovery of aural fungi, we find two cases of parasitic ear disease repor¬ ted, respectively, by Mayer and Pacini (“Beobachtungenvon Cysten mit Fadenpilzen aus dem aiisseren Gehorgange” Muller’s Arch., p. 401, 1844, and “ Supra una muffa parasitica (mucedo), nel condotto auditivo esterno, Firenze,” 1851.) Notwithstanding these earlier discoveries of ear fungus, I think, in justice, all the honour of a new discovery belongs to Schwartze, of Halle, who, in 1865, first called the attention of otologists to the existence and frequent occurrence of a form of ear disease of a parasitic nature. (See Arch, fur Ohrenheilk., B. ii. p. 5, 1865.) The reports of the earlier cases failed to attract the at¬ tention of the profession, consequently their significance and importance in relation to aural therapeutics were unrecognised. The reports of Schwartze’s cases at once aroused attention, and incited otologists to further search. The result showed that the fungus was not at all rare, for similar discoveries were made in various parts of the con¬ tinents of Europe and America, chief among those who so reported being Wreden of St Petersburg (“Arch, fur Ohrenheilk.,” B. iii., p. 1, 1867), and Boosa, Orne Green, and Blake in America. (“ Trans, Amer. Otolog. Socy.,” 1869, and “ Amer. Jour, of the Med. Sciences,” 1870.) Curiously enough, however, up till the date of my communication to the British