Cutaneous Signs in Dermatological Diseases; An Overview

Surabhi Sharma; Binod K Khaitan; Sujith Prasad Kumarasinghe

doi:10.4103/ijd.ijd_141_21

Cutaneous Signs in Dermatological Diseases; An Overview

Indian J Dermatol. 2021 Sep-Oct;66(5):530-539. doi: 10.4103/ijd.ijd_141_21.

Authors

Surabhi Sharma¹, Binod K Khaitan², Sujith Prasad Kumarasinghe^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia.
² Departent of Dermatology and Venerology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
³ School of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.

Abstract

Cutaneous signs in dermatology are pathognomonic or diagnostic for certain conditions. A knowledge of these signs is a useful skill, which must not be forgotten in the recent trend towards relying on molecular biology and other investigative tools including histological findings to make a diagnosis. The aim of this review is to summarize all cutaneous signs in dermatology in a systematic way that would benefit dermatologists, trainee or experienced, in identifying diseases and sharpening their clinical skills. A keyword search for the terms "cutaneous signs," "sign" AND "dermatology" was conducted through PUBMED, Google, and the major textbooks in dermatology (i.e., Rooks Textbook of Dermatology; Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine and Dermatology). References were searched thoroughly for all cutaneous signs described. One hundred and nineteen signs were noted and summarized under the following categories: autoimmune, infective, inflammatory, neoplastic, genetic, trauma/miscellaneous. This review would serve as a good reference for those wanting to improve their clinical acumen in diagnosing dermatological disease.

Keywords: Cutaneous signs; dermatology; eponymous signs; signs.