Lĕp'ro-sy, n.

n. [O. Fr. léprosie, Pr. lebrosia, O. It. lebbrosia. See infra.] (Med.) (a.) A cutaneous disease (Lepra vulgaris), and its varieties (L. nigricans, L. alphoides, &c.). It first appears as reddish, shining, solid, slightly prominent spots, with spreading edges. These spots then become scaly at the center, usually of a white color, but sometimes gray or black, and continue to desquamate. The disease produces only a slight itching of the surface, but sometimes excites constitutional disturbance. It usually occurs on a surface near the bone, as the elbow or knee. It does not appear to be contagious. Willan. (b.) A form of elephantiasis. See ELEPHANTIASIS.

The leprosy of the ancients was a cutaneous disease, some species of which, among the Hebrews, rendered a person ceremonially unclean. The different forms seem to have been varieties of L. alphoides, and their chief characteristics were smooth, shining, depressed white patches or scales, the hair on which participated in the whiteness, while the skin and adjacent flesh became insensible. It was an incurable disease.