| Erythema nodosum
|
Etiology
•Unknown
|
Pathogenesis
•Believed to be a hypersensitvity reaction to varied
insults.
•The precise cause of erythema nodosum is unknown,
but it can often occur as a sequel to bacterial
infections, in response to some drugs and accompanying
some fungal infections.,
|
Epidemiology
•Common disorder
|
General Gross Description
•Erythema nodosum is one form of acute inflammation of
the soft tissue of the skin (panniculitis).
•The lesion is often not clearly visible, but can
palpated as an area of induration in the subcutaneous
tissues.
•Examples:
|
General Microscopic Description
•Histologically, there are two patterns.
•If the inflammation primarily involves the septa
separating the subcutaneous adipose tissue into lobules,
there is some thickening of these septa with the
presence of inflammatory cells.
•If the inflammation attacks primarily the nodules of
fat, areas of fat necrosis with accumulation of
inflammatory cells and macrophages is seen.
•Examples:
|
References
• Cotran RS, Kumar V, Robbins SL: Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease. 5th edition. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders, 1994, pp. 1196.
• Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 13th Edition: Isselbach et. al. (eds). New York, McGraw-Hill, 1994, pp. 383.
For Most Current Information Search Medline at National Library of Medicine
This link will directly take you to the relevant new literature
| Erythema nodosum
| | Synopsis by: T.V.Rajan, M.D., Ph.D. (T01000M45620)[520]
| |