SCARLET FEVER. Synonyms.—Scarlatina; Scarlet Rash. Definition ...

a form or variety of tuberculosis.
Etiology.—Anything that tends to lower the vitality of the lymph
tissue is a predisposing cause. Poverty and environment are fruitful
causal conditions, and tuberculosis of the lymph glands is much more
common among the extreme poor than the well-to-do.
Age.—While this form may occur at any age, it is exceedingly rare after
middle life, the greatest number of cases occurring among children.
Race.—The negro is peculiarly susceptible.
Catarrhal conditions of the mucous membranes render the patient far
more susceptible than those otherwise affected. The germs lodge upon
the mucous membranes in naso-pharyngitis, and readily find their way
into the lymph channels, and are carried to the near-by glands.
Tonsillitis, for the same reason, may be the forerunner of tubercular
adenitis.
Eczema may furnish a rich soil for the reception of the germ, which in
turn finds its way into the lymph current, and the glands receive the
force of the poison.
Clinical Forms.—The various phases of this variety may be grouped
under two heads: generalized tubercular lymphadenitis, and local
tubercular adenitis.
Generalised Tubercular Lymphadenitis.—This form may involve the
lymphatic system at large, while the viscera may escape. The cervical
lymphatics are more frequently the seat of infection, though any group
may be the source, and the general infection which follows might be
regarded as secondary. Usually its course is chronic, though it may have
an acute course.
Symptoms.—Although there is no evidence of lung trouble, the patient
is going into a decline. There is loss of flesh and strength, the appetite is
capricious, the tongue furred, and secretions are deranged. A fever,
irregular in character, is a marked feature. Emaciation becomes marked,
while the cervical and axillary glands become swollen, with a tendency
to suppuration. In the general appearance there is a great resemblance
to Hodgkin's disease.
The Eclectic Practice of Medicine - PART I - Infectious Diseases - Page 188