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Nailfold Capillaroscopy

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Scleroderma

Abstract

In 1663, Johan Christophorous Kolhaus was the first clinician to use a primitive microscope to observe the small blood vessels surrounding the nails and Giovanni Rasori (1766–1873), using a magnifying glass, first described the close relationship between conjunctival inflammation and the presence of an “inextricable knot of capillary loops.” (Cutolo M. Capillaroscopy in Rheumatic Diseases. From the XVIII to the XXI Century. In: Cutolo M, editor. Atlas of capillaroscopy in Rheumatic Diseases, vol. 1. 1st ed. Milano: Elsevier; 2010. p. 3–5.)

From the time that Maurice Raynaud (1834–1881) presented his thesis in Paris (1862) on local ischemic damage of the hands, feet, nose, and tongue, the intravital capillary microscopy (or capillaroscopy) became recognized as the best investigation to identify and analyze microvascular involvement, which is the key feature of Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Internal Medicine–Research Laboratory and Academic Unit of Clinical Rheumatology, University of Genova – Medical School and San Martino Hospital, Genoa, Italy

    Maurizio Cutolo MD

  2. Department of Rheumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium

    Vanessa Smith MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Maurizio Cutolo MD
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  2. Vanessa Smith MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Maurizio Cutolo MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, E. Huron Street 240, Chicago, 60611-2909, Illinois, USA

    John Varga

  2. Royal Free and University College, Medical School, University College London, Rowland Street, London, NW3 2PF, United Kingdom

    Christopher P. Denton

  3. School of Medicine, Div. Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University, Eastern Avenue 5200, Baltimore, 21224, Maryland, USA

    Fredrick M. Wigley

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Cutolo, M., Smith, V. (2012). Nailfold Capillaroscopy. In: Varga, J., Denton, C., Wigley, F. (eds) Scleroderma. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5774-0_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5774-0_27

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