Abstract
Clinical differential diagnosis of hypopigmented patches includes pityriasis alba (P. Alba), mycosis fungoides (MF), sarcoidosis, early vitiligo, progressive macular hypomelanosis (PMH), and tinea versicolor (TV). These disorders vary in their pathophysiology from mild inflammation (P. Alba) to autoimmune (vitiligo) to lymphoma (MF), and a granulomatous disorder (sarcoidosis).
The histological findings of sarcoidosis are highly characteristic, well known, and easily recognizable. The organisms in TV may be recognized by standard microscopy due to their abundance in the stratum corneum. The findings in hypopigmented MF are similar to those in patch-stage MF. The histological findings of P. Alba, PMH, and early vitiligo are not diagnostic.
The most commonly submitted differential diagnosis for disorders in this section is early vitiligo versus hypopigmented MF versus hypopigmented sarcoidosis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mutasim, D. (2015). Hypopigmented Patches. In: Practical Skin Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14729-1_29
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14729-1_29
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-14728-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-14729-1
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)