Alopecia Areata

CELSUS said, "alopekiaspreads out in a pattern where is pleases; butophiasis[so called from its resemblance to a snake] begins at the back of the head [ab occipitio]," and these are the two kinds of baldness (area).1Perhaps this constitutes the first description of alopecia areata, but it is certainly not a very good one, and it may be that Kaposi was correct when he said that Celsus actually did not describe it at all.2 Celsus did very well, however, when he discussed treatment. He recommended scarification, painting with "resin of the turpentine tree," application of burned olive oil and "especially burned paper [maximeque chartam combustam]," and daily shaving. These suggestions have scarcely been deviated from, let alone improved upon, down to the present day. The reason for the persistent popularity of such measures seems to have been, in general, their apparent effectiveness. The majority