Elephantiasis Arabum

Elephantiasis Arabum (also called Cochin or Barbadoes Leg, or Pachydermia) is a disease chiefly of tropical climates, and especially frequent in India. It consists in an overgrowth of the skin and connective tissue of the parts affected, with occasional attacks of inflammation resembling erysipelas. The disease (so called because the skin becomes like elephant's hide) is associated with, or caused by, obstruction of the lymphatic vessels of the affected part. In many cases a parasitic worm (Filaria sanguinis hominis) is found in the patient's blood, and is believed to cause the obstruction; but the disease may occur from other causes. The lower limbs and genital organs are the parts usually affected, and may attain an enormous size; the scrotum has been known to weigh over 100 lb. In the early stages it can sometimes be reduced or kept in check by firm bandaging, with careful avoidance of all causes of irritation—e.g. over-fatigue, great changes of temperature. But in severe cases, amputation of the part affected is often necessary to allow the patient to move about at all. For the wholly distinct disease, Elephantiasis Grecorum, see LEPROSY.