Histological patterns and differential diagnosis of common inflammatory dermatoses

Inflammatory disorders of the skin can often be diagnostic dilemmas as the skin can show protean morphological reaction patterns, many of which may have overlapping histological appearances. An accurate diagnosis may be difficult to make under these circumstances, if histology is interpreted in isolation. The key to accurate diagnosis lies in the identification of the predominant histological pattern, formulating a list of differential diagnoses based on the pattern and correlating the pattern with the clinical scenario and distribution of lesions. Ancillary methods including special stains and direct immunofluorescence are also integral to this diagnostic algorithm. This paper describes some of the common inflammatory dermatoses, their histological patterns, differential diagnoses and the usual clinical presentations that can aid in diagnosis.

Source: Egyptian Journal of Pathology - July 1, 2014 Category: Pathology Tags: Review Article Source Type: research