PILI TORTI: REPORT OF A CASE

Pili torti is a rare anomaly of the hair which is characterized by a twisting of each hair through 180 degrees along its long axis, giving each hair the appearance of a corkscrew. The tortuosities may be tightly or loosely bound and may be at varying distances from each other. The hairs are sparse, unkempt, dull and fragile. The fragility and brittleness usually result in a partial alopecia over the occiput, where pressure occurs. Danforth 1 described the condition of pili torti and mentioned that this twisting characteristic of hair had been much neglected by previous authors. Ronchese in 1932 2 reported a case of pili torti and the following year 3 mentioned 2 cases which appeared in the same family. He attempted to show a hereditary tendency in these cases, but the family history was indefinite. He attributed the lack of written matter on this subject to the rarity