When the scalp was affected the head was
sore to the touch and excessively itchy. A clammy and
agglutinating sweat then occurred over the cranium, the hair
became unctuous, stuck together, and appeared distended with an
adhesive matter of reddish-brown color, believed by many
observers to be sanguineous. The hair was so acutely sensitive
that the slightest touch occasioned severe pain at the roots. A
viscid matter of a very offensive smell, like that of spoiled
vinegar, or according to Rayer like that of mice or garlic,
exuded from the whole surface of each affected hair. This matter
glued the hairs together, at first from their exit at the skin,
and then along the entire length; it appeared to be secreted from
the whole surface of the scalp and afterward dried into an
incrustation. If there was no exudation the disease was called
plica sicca. The hair was matted and stuck together in a variety
of ways, so as to resemble ropes (plica multiformis). Sometimes
these masses united together and formed one single thick club
like the tail of a horse (plica caudiformis). Again, and
particularly in females, the hair would become matted and glued
together into one uniform intricate mass of various magnitudes.
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