TINEA CAPUT MEDUSA - AN UNUSUAL PRESENTATION OF TRICHOPHYTON-MENTAGROPHYTES ON THE SCALP

Tinea capitis has a wide variety of clinical presentations in adolesce nts and adults. However, the occurrence of fingerlike projections in t he scalp has not been previously described. A 14-year-old girl present ed with a one-year history of a painful scalp mass. Debridement of thi s mass revealed slender papillomatous growths resembling those seen in elephantiasis nostras verrucosa. A fungal culture grew Trichophyton m entagrophytes. We describe the first case of this unusual clinical var iant of tinea capitis and hypothesize on its pathophysiological basis.