Thirty one years of herpes zoster in a rural practice.

The principal finding in this study of 151 cases of herpes zoster in a rural practice was the predominance of patients who had a lesion on the right side. This supports the proposition that the site of occurrence may be determined by repeated trauma. The decline in the frequency of attacks in older men was significant. Studying these cases and published reports has elucidated some of the problems of the occurrence and distribution of herpes zoster in the body, which still await definition. Others may be encouraged to carry these studies further.