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Apparently, it is not generally recognized that elastic tissue fibers in scrapings from lesions of the skin may so closely resemble the mycelial filaments of fungi as to lead to an error in diagnosis and the consequent use of inappropriate treatment. The following communication, which reports such an error, is prompted by the belief that other clinicians have probably made the same mistake, and by the hope that if attention is called to the matter it may serve to increase accuracy in diagnosis.
In recent years, attention has been called repeatedly to the simple routine procedure of making fresh preparations from patches of dermatitis, plaques of inflammatory character, and especially of the granulomas and the ulcerations associated with them. So much knowledge has been derived from the use of a curet and the preparation of a fresh specimen in 10 or 15 per cent, of liquor potassae, that it is