Photosensitivity and Photoreactions
Sunlight emits a wide spectrum of radiation energy, extending from radio waves through infrared, visible, and ultraviolet (UV) light, to X-rays. The wavelength range of visible light is 400 to…
Cutaneous Tumors and Tumor Syndromes
Because of the increasing public awareness and incidence of skin cancer, physicians are often consulted regarding tumors of the skin. In children, the vast majority of cutaneous tumors are benign,…
Inborn Errors of Metabolism
The inborn disorders of metabolism are a group of primarily autosomal recessive hereditary disorders that result in metabolic and clinical defects. (More comprehensive discussion of some of these topics is…
Exanthematous Diseases of Childhood
Several viral and bacterial illnesses may be accompanied by localized or generalized skin eruptions called exanthems . These eruptions may be the first manifestation of a disorder and often are…
Viral Diseases of the Skin
Viruses are ultramicroscopic organisms that grow only within living cells. The antigenic material responsible for viral immunologic reactions is present in the outer protein membrane (capsid) of the virus. The…
Disorders of Hair and Nails
Hair Hair is a protein by-product of follicles distributed everywhere on the body surface except the palms, soles, vermilion portion of the lips, glans penis, penile shaft, nailbeds, and sides…
Bacterial, Mycobacterial, and Protozoal Infections of the Skin
The normal skin of healthy infants and children is resistant to invasion by most bacteria, because the cutaneous surface provides a dry mechanical barrier from which contaminating organisms are constantly…
Bullous Disorders of Childhood
Blisters or bullae are rounded or irregularly shaped lesions of the skin or mucous membranes that result from the accumulation of fluid between the cells of the epidermis, the epidermis…
Hereditary Disorders of Cornification
The hereditary disorders of cornification, or the ichthyoses, are characterized by impairment in desquamation with hyperkeratosis and/or scaling. The ichthyoses are largely distinguished by their clinical and in some cases,…
Histiocytoses and Malignant Skin Diseases
The histiocytoses are a broad group of disorders characterized by an abnormal proliferation of the histiocyte, a type of progenitor cell in the bone marrow ( Box 10-1 ). Some…
