Pyoderma gangrenosum Clinical features Pyoderma gangrenosum is an uncommon disease of obscure etiology. It appears to be somewhat more common in women and, although it may occur at any age, most patients are in their fourth or fifth decade. Presentation…
Adverse Drug Reactions – Introduction Adverse drug reactions are unintended and undesired effects of drugs used for prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of disease. In light of the ever-increasing number of medications available, it should come as no surprise that such…
The hyperlipidemias The hyperlipidemias may present as cutaneous xanthomata, which are localized aggregates of histiocytes containing accumulated lipid (primarily free and esterified cholesterol), in the form of five main clinical types: eruptive, tendinous, tuberous, planar, disseminated. The last, xanthoma disseminatum,…
Sarcoidosis Clinical features Sarcoidosis (Gr. sarkos , flesh; eidos , form), so named because its histologic features were originally thought to resemble a sarcoma (Boeck), is a common systemic disease of unknown etiology. It is characterized and defined by the…
Chronic superficial dermatitis Clinical features Chronic superficial dermatitis (digitate dermatosis, superficial scaly dermatitis, small-plaque parapsoriasis, persistent superficial dermatitis) is a not uncommon condition, which presents as erythematous scaly persistent patches, showing a predilection for the limbs and trunk. While the…
The term ‘lichenoid’ refers to inflammatory dermatoses which are characterized by a bandlike lymphohistiocytic infiltrate in the upper dermis, hugging and often obscuring the dermal–epidermal interface. Lichen planus is the prototypic lichenoid dermatitis ( Box 7.1 ). Interface dermatitis refers…
Eczematous Dermatitis This chapter discusses a number of disorders under the rubric eczematous dermatitis, also called eczema and spongiotic dermatitis. The term eczema refers to a group of disorders that share similar clinical and histologic features but may have different…
Introduction The term acantholysis derives from the Greek akantha , a thorn or prickle, and lysis , a loosening. In its simplest definition, the term is used to reflect a primary disorder of the skin (and sometimes the mucous membranes)…