Vitiligo, except for the disfigurement it causes, is an uninteresting disease, as it is easily diagnosed, is an indication of no other known trouble and is in most instances absolutely refractory to treatment. It is manifested merely by an area of white skin surrounded by more deeply pigmented skin, as if the pigment had been shoved from this white center to the periphery. Formerly the condition was more interesting than it is at present, as it was thought to be a symptom of leprosy and the patient exhibiting it was expelled from his community, which was then equivalent to a death sentence ; but that time has long passed.
The statement that the area of vitiligo is white is not exact. It is white only by contrast. If a hole is cut in a piece of white paper and placed over the apparently white surface, thereby shutting out the surrounding,