This thickening of the epidermis and hair was the effect of some
morbid predisposition which was transmitted from father to son,
the daughters not being affected. Five generations could be
reckoned which had been affected in the manner described.
The "porcupine-man" seen by Baker contracted small-pox, and his
skin was temporarily freed from the squamae, but these reappeared
shortly afterward. There are several older records of prickly men
or porcupine-men. Ascanius mentions a porcupine-man, as do Buffon
and Schreber. Autenreith speaks of a porcupine-man who was
covered with innumerable verrucae. Martin described a remarkable
variety of ichthyosis in which the skin was covered with strong
hairs like the bristles of a boar. When numerous and thick the
scales sometimes assumed a greenish-black hue. An example of this
condition was the individual who exhibited under the name of the
"alligator-boy." Figure 286 represents an "alligator-boy"
exhibited by C. T. Taylor. The skin affected in this case
resembled in color and consistency that of a young alligator. It
was remarked that his olfactory sense was intact.
The harlequin fetus, of which there are specimens in Guy's
Hospital, London Hospital, and the Royal College of Surgeons
Museum, is the result of ichthyosis congenita.
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