Vascular and lymphatic diseases
Blood vessel disorders
Erythema
Erythema is redness of the skin, usually due to vasodilatation (Table 1). It may be localized, e.g. with pregnancy or liver disease (on palms), fixed drug eruption and infection (e.g. Lyme disease), or generalized, as with drug eruption, toxic erythema (e.g. viral exanthem) and connective tissue disease.
Table 1 Classification of blood vessel and lymphatic disorders
| Vessel | Process | Resulting lesion |
|---|---|---|
| Small blood vessels |
Flushing
Telangiectasia
Telangiectasia is a visible dilatation of dermal venules or, in spider naevi (Fig. 1), an arteriole. It results from:
congenital (e.g. hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia)
skin atrophy (topical steroids, ageing skin, radiation dermatitis)
excess oestrogen (e.g. liver disease, pregnancy, ‘the pill’)
connective tissue disease (systemic sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis)
