[Changes in the nervous elements of the skin in paronychia]

Biopsies taken from 132 patients during operations were studied histologically. The control material was taken from 54 corpses. The age of the patients and controls ranged from 5 to 68 years. Under investigation were pieces of tissue (0,5X0,2 cm) fixed in 12% neutral formalin. The nerve elements in the serous stage of all forms of panaritium had reactive changes, those in the purulent stage had destructive changes as well. The degree of the changes grown with age, from the serous stage to the purulent one, from unguinal panaritium to osteal panaritium. The least alterations were observed in the serous stage of unguinal panaritium and subcutaneous whitlow in patients from 15 to 25 years of age with the term of the disease 1-2 days. The greatest changes were found in severe forms of panaritium in people older than 50 years with the term of the disease 3-8 days.