Herpes Zoster Involving the Urinary Bladder

HERPES zoster has been recognized as a clinical entity since the time of Celsus; it was referred to as "zona" by the Greeks and "holy fire" by the Romans.1 Mehlis, in 1818, pointed out its association to peripheral nerves, but it was Bärensprung,1 in 1861, who first described its relation to the dorsal-root ganglions. The etiologic agent appears to be a filtrable virus that may be related to the virus of chicken pox. Histologically, it produces a severe inflammatory reaction in the dorsal root and ganglions, as described by Head and Campbell.2 This reaction may extend peripherally or centrally, or . . .