An ulcer is a sore on the skin or a mucous membrane, accompanied by the disintegration of tissue. Ulcers can result in complete loss of the epidermis and often portions of the dermis and even subcutaneous fat. Ulcers are most common on the skin of the lower extremities and in the gastrointestinal tract. An ulcer that appears on the skin is often visible as an inflamed tissue with an area of reddened skin. A skin ulcer is often visible in the event of exposure to heat or cold, irritation, or a problem with blood circulation.
Panniculitis is a group of diseases whose hallmark is inflammation of subcutaneous adipose tissue. Symptoms include tender skin nodules, and systemic signs such as weight loss and fatigue.
A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this system is as a barrier against the external environment.
Stasis dermatitis refers to the skin changes that occur in the leg as a result of "stasis" or blood pooling from insufficient venous return; the alternative name of varicose eczema comes from a common cause of this being varicose veins.
Venous ulcer is defined by the American Venous Forum as "a full-thickness defect of skin, most frequently in the ankle region, that fails to heal spontaneously and is sustained by chronic venous disease, based on venous duplex ultrasound testing." Venous ulcers are wounds that are thought to occur due to improper functioning of venous valves, usually of the legs. They are an important cause of chronic wounds, affecting 1% of the population. Venous ulcers develop mostly along the medial distal leg, and can be painful with negative effects on quality of life.
Livedo reticularis is a common skin finding consisting of a mottled reticulated vascular pattern that appears as a lace-like purplish discoloration of the skin. The discoloration is caused by reduction in blood flow through the arterioles that supply the cutaneous capillaries, resulting in deoxygenated blood showing as blue discoloration. This can be a secondary effect of a condition that increases a person's risk of forming blood clots, including a wide array of pathological and nonpathological conditions. Examples include hyperlipidemia, microvascular hematological or anemia states, nutritional deficiencies, hyper- and autoimmune diseases, and drugs/toxins.
Lupus vulgaris are painful cutaneous tuberculosis skin lesions with nodular appearance, most often on the face around the nose, eyelids, lips, cheeks, ears and neck. It is the most common Mycobacterium tuberculosis skin infection. The lesions may ultimately develop into disfiguring skin ulcers if left untreated.
Subcutaneous fat necrosis of the newborn is a rare form of lobular panniculitis occurring in newborns that is usually self-remitting and non-recurring. Proposed causes include perinatal stress, local trauma, hypoxia and hypothermia, though the exact cause is unknown. It has been suggested that the brown fat seen in newborns is more sensitive to hypoxic injury than fat seen in adults, and that such hypoxia, usually in the context of a complicated birth, leads to the fat necrosis. Complications can include hypercalcemia, hyperlipidemia, dehydration, hypoglycemia, seizures, vomiting, constipation, and thrombocytopenia, and can present months after the onset of SCFN symptoms.
A venous lake is a generally solitary, soft, compressible, dark blue to violaceous, 0.2- to 1-cm papule commonly found on sun-exposed surfaces of the vermilion border of the lip, face and ears. Lesions generally occur among the elderly.
The term venous translucence has been used in phlebology since 1996 by surgeon Pedro Fernandes Neto during ambulatory clinical exams in Brazil. His results were published in the annals of the national and international congresses of angiology. Venous translucence is the process of reflective image visualization of veins by light, which reaches up to the superficial venous system. It is a non-invasive method. Since it is a simple, low-cost technique it can be repeated as needed, which is useful in disease-process monitoring. It is a new diagnostic procedure, still undergoing investigation; more analysis is necessary to hone its technical aspects. Venous translucence is based on optical physics. It is caused by the refraction, absorption and reflection of light. The color which is not absorbed is reflected, and is the one that is seen. Therefore, venous translumination is based on the incidence of luminosity on the vein, where part of the light is absorbed and another reflected.
Sclerema neonatorum is a rare and severe skin condition that is characterized by diffuse hardening of the subcutaneous tissue with minimal inflammation. It usually affects premature, ill newborns. Prognosis is poor.
Cutaneous small-vessel vasculitis (CSVV), also known as hypersensitivity vasculitis, cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis, hypersensitivity angiitis, cutaneous leukocytoclastic angiitis, cutaneous necrotizing vasculitis and cutaneous necrotizing venulitis, is inflammation of small blood vessels, characterized by palpable purpura. It is the most common vasculitis seen in clinical practice.
Arterial insufficiency ulcers are mostly located on the lateral surface of the ankle or the distal digits. They are commonly caused by peripheral artery disease (PAD).
Elephantiasis nostras is a cutaneous condition, a final hypertrophic fibrosis following longstanding chronic lymphangitis.
Livedoid vasculopathy is a chronic cutaneous disease seen predominantly in young to middle-aged women. One acronym used to describe its features is "Painful purpuric ulcers with reticular pattern of the lower extremities" (PURPLE).
Acroangiodermatitis of Mali is a rare cutaneous condition often characterized by purplish-blue to brown papules and plaques on the medial and lateral malleolus of both legs.
Weber–Christian disease, is a cutaneous condition characterized by recurrent subcutaneous nodules that heal with depression of the overlying skin.
Tuberculous gumma is a skin condition characterized histologically by massive necrosis. Restated, this is a skin condition that results from hematogenous dissemination of mycobacteria from a primary focus, resulting in firm, nontender erythematous nodules that soften, ulcerate, and form sinuses.
Stasis papillomatosis is a disease characterized by chronic congestion of the extremities, with blood circulation interrupted in a specific area of the body. A consequence of this congestion and inflammation is long-term lymphatic obstruction. It is also typically characterized by the appearance of numerous papules. Injuries can range from small to large plates composed of brown or pink, smooth or hyperkeratotic papules. The most typical areas where injuries occur are the back of the feet, the toes, the legs, and the area around a venous ulcer formed in the extremities, although the latter is the rarest of all. These injuries include pachydermia, lymphedema, lymphomastic verrucusis and elephantosis verracosa. The disease can be either localized or generalized; the localized form makes up 78% of cases. Treatment includes surgical and pharmaceutical intervention; indications for partial removal include advanced fibrotic lymphedema and elephantiasis. Despite the existence of these treatments, chronic venous edema, which is a derivation of stasis papillomatosis, is only partially reversible. The skin is also affected and its partial removal may mean that the skin and the subcutaneous tissue are excised. A side effect of the procedure is the destruction of existing cutaneous lymphatic vessels. It also risks papillomatosis, skin necrosis and edema exacerbation.