Studies in the Genus Microsporum

THE PREMISES The first genus, Microsporum, 1 and the first species, Microsporum Audouini, of the ringworm fungi were described by Gruby 2 in 1843. His description was based on the parasitic aspect of the fungus in porrigo decalvans or pelade, and the organism was given the name Microsporum because of the extremely small spores which made up the sheath around the infected hairs. Gruby, however, was in error in diagnosing the lesion as pelade. He was dealing not with pelade but with herpes tonsurans, and attempts by others to find his fungus in lesions of pelade were of course futile. The situation was not entirely clear until 1894, when Sabouraud 3 rediscovered Gruby's fungus in lesions of herpes tonsurans and clarified the earlier confusion in the clinical identification of the disease for which M. Audouini had been described as the etiologic agent. Subsequently the genus Microsporum has been distinguished