A 63-year-old farmer first noticed multiple rough bumps on his hands and feet at least 20 years before pointing them out to his physician. A diagnosis of arsenical keratoses was made after the patient reported that as a child he had worked on his family's potato farm, where a commonly used pesticide, “Paris Green,” was applied to the plants. The active ingredient in this pesticide was inorganic arsenic.
A 40-year-old man requested evaluation of several cherry-red papules, which he had noticed on the upper part of his trunk for the past 12 months. The eruptions were diagnosed as cherry angiomas, also known as Campbell de Morgan spots.
Tiny, asymptomatic "bumps" had been present for 4 years on the posterolateral surface of the upper arms of a 34-year-old woman. Similar but less severe eruptions also appeared on her forearms and anterior thighs.
A pruritic, erythematous rash developed in a 6-year-old boy over the previous 5 days. The rash erupted in crops; the lesions appeared initially as rose-colored macules, progressed rapidly to papules and vesicles, and finally crusted. The distribution of the lesions-with the greatest concentration on the trunk-is typical of chickenpox.
The erythematous rash with punctate satellite lesions seen on the axillary and inframammary areas of a 46-year-old woman are typical of the lesions of moniliasis, or candidiasis. The patient reported that the pruritic rash had erupted 2 months earlier and worsened during the summer heat.
These orange-to-brown macules with red puncta, or cayenne pepper spots, are typical of Schamberg's disease (progressive pigmented purpuric dermatosis). The cause of this disorder is unknown, but it may be related to a cellular immune reaction or drug reaction.
A 70-year-old woman with a history of ischemic heart disease was hospitalized because of generalized weakness, fatigue, and retrosternal chest pain on mild exertion. Her skin was pallid. Chest and heart evaluations were normal, and mild hepatosplenomegaly was discerned.
Fibroadenomas are the most common benign solid tumors of breast tissue. They may develop at any time after puberty, but they are found most frequently in women in their 20s and 30s and are more common than cysts among women aged 25 or younger.
Asymptomatic facial and truncal papules began developing several years before this 55-year-old man sought medical care. The lesions were slightly yellowish or reddish, and many had a central punctum. Biopsy revealed a microscopic picture consistent with sebaceous adenoma.
A 70-year-old man first noticed this skin condition when he returned from the South Pacific at the end of World War II. Over the years, the rash has itched only occasionally; however, during a recent spate of hot weather, the eruption became highly pruritic. Applications of an over-the-counter 1% hydrocortisone ointment exacerbated the condition.
The coppery hyperpigmentation on the front and sides of a 47-year-old woman's neck, sparing a large area on the anterior surface, had been present for many years. She had no itching, burning, or other symptoms associated with the discoloration. Questioning revealed that she used perfume liberally on her neck and had been a sun worshipper in years past.
When this boy was born, he was covered by a transparent membrane resembling oiled parchment or collodion. The membrane was shed within 2 weeks and, subsequently, the infant was found to have normal skin. Lamellar ichthyosis usually develops in babies with this condition, although in some the skin clears completely.
A 40-year-old farmer had been complaining for 3 weeks of a tender, red, itchy, scaling plaque with papulopustules on one knee. A potassium hydroxide examination of the scale revealed fungal hyphae.
A 40-year-old man presented with tiny, intensely pruritic vesicles on the knees, legs, buttocks, elbows, and scalp.
A 0.5-cm mass with overlying erythema on the forehead of a 5-month-old girl was first noticed after she had been hit on the head with a rattle. Excision of the mass was deferred because it was considered to be a hemangioma.
An 87-year-old man sought treatment of an irritated, red left eye with an enlarging “growth.” Two years earlier, the growth in the eye had been examined by another ophthalmologist. The patient could not recall the diagnosis and stated that no specific therapy had been initiated.
These pruritic but otherwise asymptomatic lesions on the right upper arm of a 77-year-old woman first appeared about 1 year before she sought medical consultation. The patient's history included frequent, generalized pruritus, which was believed to be secondary to long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus.
A 34-year-old man experienced fever and arthralgia several days after appearance of the rash.
Diabetes mellitus recently had been diagnosed in a 58-year-old woman. The patient claims that her skin had darkened significantly over the past 5 years.
Concern about this flat, tan, atrophic, well-marginated, dime-sized lesion prompted a 44-year-old woman to seek medical advice. The lesion, which was mildly pruritic, had appeared 2 months earlier.
Three months ago, a 50-year-old man who was otherwise in good health noticed a hard, round nodule on his left arm. Within 2 months, similar nodules appeared all over his trunk, head, arms, and legs. The reddish purple lesions, less than 2 cm in diameter, were painless and slightly pruritic.
This truncal lesion was revealed when a 47-year-old man disrobed for examination after he had fallen on a sheet of ice and broken a rib. The patient-a truck driver and 30 pack-year cigarette smoker-had been aware of the enlarging lesion for about a year but had not sought medical attention because it was asymptomatic.
An 85-year-old white woman was brought to the emergency department (ED) with acute, severe left posterolateral chest wall pain of several hours' duration. The nonradiating pain was accompanied by shortness of breath. She denied palpitations, diaphoresis, syncope, or dizziness.
An area of mottled skin developed on the back of a 55-year-old woman who has had arthritis for several years. She often applied a heating pad to her middle and lower back for relief from arthritic pain.
An ulcerating nodule on his left pre-auricular region worried a 64-year-old man.
