IS DERMATOLOGY SLIPPING INTO ITS ANEC-DOTAGE

In recent issues, the ARCHIVES has run a feature entitled ''In the Arc hives a Century Ago'' in which a portion of a very old article is repr inted. These articles seem often to be chosen for comic interest and m ake good reading, seeing how widely our forefathers missed the mark. I t is even better when the author is a familiar name. How could they th ink such crazy things! Usually a short while after feeling so smug, on e of our residents, or perhaps a visiting internist, will give me a st range look after I state some dermatologic concept and ask how we have come to such a conclusion. Sometimes, it can be tough to defend (why do so many people get ''insect bite reactions'' in the dead of winter? ), and I am left wondering how we know what we know.