A blog about dermatology and its related topics. Guide to cope up with dermatology disorders and some dermatology treatments.
Recognition of the vesiculobullous diseases is usually not difficult. Specifically, cutaneous lesions containing any number of intact, clear, fluid-filled blisters should be assigned to this group. Problems can arise if, in a blistering process, all the roofs have been broken. In this situation the presence of perfectly round erosions with a thin collarette of scale […]
When more than a single lesion is present, the examiner should first search for, and then focus on, the most representative lesion that can be identified. The following information regarding that lesion should be documented:
Lesion type: Some authorities divide these lesions into primary and secondary types
Color: Skin-colored, white, brown-black, yellow, or red
Margination: sharp or diffuse
Configuration: […]
Hair follicles are composed primarily of epidermally derived cells. Early in embryogenesis, clusters of pluripotential epidermal cells “bud” down from the basal layer and extend into the dermis where they form the hair follicle. A cup-shaped indentatjon at the base of the epidermal bud accepts a specialized dermal papilla with its contribution of blood vessels. […]
Diagnostic Hallmarks
Distribution - tips and sides of the digits, palms and soles
Clustering of minute, noninflammatory vesicles
History of recurrent episodes
Clinical Presentation
Dyshidrosis consists of minute, noninflammatory vesicles located along the lateral sides and tips of the digits. Individual vesicles are rarely more than 1 mm in diameter, but as the disease increases in severity, tight clustering […]
Are the Lesions Solid or Fluid Filled?
In simple terms, are blisters present or not? Recognition of large, intact blisters is easy, but identification of fluid-filled lesions is problematic in two other situations. First, very small vesicles, such as those occurring on the palms and soles in dyshidrosis, are often misidentified because of the their pinhead […]
The amount of medical information is increasing exponentially. This statement may be a cliche, but it is frighteningly true. Surely, all of us are intimidated by the huge amount of learning we must do in order to practice medicine safely and effectively. In spite of this, it seems to me that our medical education system, […]
Diagnostic Hallmarks
Distribution: often starts on the extremities but becomes generalized fairly quickly
Tense, tough blisters usually arising from normal skin
Individual lesions heal spontaneously while new blisters continue to appear
Immunofluorescent studies: IgG and C3 in a linear pattern at the dermal-epidermal junction.
Clinical Presentation
Patients with pemphigoid characteristically develop the disease after the age of 60. Crops of large […]
Langerhans’ cells account for 3% to 5% of the cells in the epidermis. They are dendritic cells and thus superficially resemble melanocytes. They do not, however, produce pigment, and they possess cell surface markers that identify them as being of monocyte-macrophage lineage. They originate in the bone marrow and from there move in and out […]
Diagnostic Hallmarks
Distribution: trunk, palms, soles, lips, and other mucous membranes
Tense blisters arising from the center of an erythematous base
Presence of some target-type lesions
Clinical Presentation
Most patients with erythema multiforme do not develop bullous lesions . When blisters do occur, they are present from the onset of the illness and usually are a harbinger of a rather […]