Norton Part 1 Flashcards
what causes vitiligo
autoimmune disorder
chronic depigmenting condition from complete loss of epidermal melanocytes
may find autoantibody against melanin-concentrating hormone receptor 1 in serum
vitiligo peaks when and is more common in what people
2nd and 3rd decades
higher incidence in african americans
where is vitiligo mainly found
acral areas (fingers, limbs, ears) and orificies (mouth, eyes, nose, anus)
what does vitiligo present as
asymptomatic white macules with sharp borders that gradually enlarge
hair will also loose pigment
what can one use to see vitiligo lesions better
Wood’s lamp
what is another name for a freckle
ephelis
what is an ephelis (freckle)
hyper pigmentation of the basal layer from increased melanosomes
freckles appear when
after sun exposure in lightly pigmented kids
darken with sun exposure
what does lentigo present as
small (less than 1 cm) circumscribed brown macular lesions
lentigo is what?
hyper pigmentation of cells just above the basement membrane
what happens to lentigo with sun exposure
they do not darken
what histological features are seen in lentigo
rete ridges are elongated and appear club shaped or tortuous
melanocytes are increased in basal layer
malanophages appear in upper dermis
what is the main difference between freckle and lentigo
lentigo has increased melanocytes
freckle has increased melanosomes but not melanocytes and gets darker w/ sun exposure
what are the gross features of a melanocytic nevi
tan to brown
uniformly pigmented
small (usually less than 6mm)
what are the histological features of a melanocytic nevi
sharply defined
well nested at the dermal-epidermal junction
melanocytes mature as they descend in dermis
no deep mitoses
no deep pigment in the melanocytic nest
what is a junctional nevi
melanocytic nests at the dermal-epidermal junction which are restricted to the tips and sides of the rete
what happens to the cells of a compound nevi and what does it appear as
they invade the dermis and mature and become smaller
more raised and dome shaped than junctional nevus
what is seen histologically on an intradermal nevi
melanocytic nests are lost completely
what is a spitz nevus composed of
spindle and/or epithelioid cells