Figurate erythemas (FE) represent an etiopathophysiologically heterogeneous group of diseases defined by their characteristic annular erythematous skin lesions. Diagnosis is made primarily by clinical examination together with histological findings; often it is a diagnosis made by exclusion. While some authors discuss FE as clinical reaction pattern rather than distinct clinical entities, others identify four classic FE: erythema annulare centrifugum, erythema gyratum repens, erythema migrans and erythema marginatum. The differential diagnoses of FE are numerous and often challenging. We therefore present a potential diagnostic algorithm for FE that discriminates the differentials according to their temporal evolution and the clinical/histological phenotype of the various subtypes. Since some FE may present with an underlying malignancy, diligent clinicians are needed when dealing with those entities.
© 2021 The Authors. Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft.