A Clinical Atlas of 101 Common Skin Diseases

Differential Diagnosis in Dermatopathology

A. Bernard Ackerman, MD
Third Edition

Enables the user to make important histologic distinctions between pairs of diseases that share similar clinical and histopathologic features.

Acne vulgaris, erythematous papule vs. Rosacea, erythematous papule
Acute discoid lupus erythematosus vs. Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus
Allergic contact dermatitis vs. Irritant contact dermatitis
Allergic (leukocytoclastic) vasculitis vs. Septic vasculitis
Alopecia areata vs. Trichotillomania
Alopecia of discoid lupus erythematosus vs. Alopecia of lichen planus
Amputation neuroma secondary to supernumerary digit vs. Acquired digital fibrokeratoma
Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia vs. Angiosarcoma
Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia vs. Kimura's disease
Apocrine (clear-cell) hidradenoma vs. Eccrine (poroid) hidradenoma
Apocrine mixed tumor vs. Eccrine mixed tumor
Atrophic lichen planus vs. Atrophic discoid lupus erythematosus
Common baldness vs. Telogen effluvium
Darier's disease (keratosis follicularis) vs. Grover's disease (transient acantholytic dermatosis
Dermatitis herpetiformis vs. Bullous pemphigoid
Dermatofibroma, hemorrhagic papulo-nodule vs. Kaposi's sarcoma, hemorrhagic papulo-nodule
Dermatofibroma vs. Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans
Dermatofibroma vs. Desmoplastic Spitz's nevus
Dermatofibroma with "monster" cells vs. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma
Dilated pore vs. Pilar sheath acanthoma
Discoid lupus erythematosus vs. Dermatomyositis
Discoid lupus erythematosus vs. Polymorphous light eruption
Epidermolytic hyperkeratosis vs. Plane wart
Erythema multiforme vs. Fixed drug eruption
Erythema multiforme vs. Graft-versus-host disease, acute phase
Erythema multiforme vs. Pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta (Mucha-Habermann disease)
Erythema multiforme vs. Toxic shock syndrome
Erythema nodosum vs. Nodular vasculitis
Erythroderma of psoriasis vs. Erythroderma of mycosis fungoides
Granular-cell tumor vs. Xanthoma
Granuloma annulare, interstitial type vs. Interstitial granulomatous dermatitis with arthritis
Granuloma annulare vs. Eruptive xanthoma
Granuloma annulare vs. Necrobiosis lipoidica
Guttate psoriasis vs. Guttate (dermatosis) parapsoriasis
Guttate psoriasis vs. Seborrheic dermatitis
Herpes simplex vs. Vaccinia
Ichthyosis vulgaris vs. X-linked ichthyosis
Infundibular cyst vs. Isthmus-catagen cyst
Infundibulo-folliculo-sebaceous cystic hamartoma vs. Steatocystoma
Insect "bite," superficial vs. Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP)
Insect "bite" vs. Lymphomatoid papulosis
Interstitial granuloma annulare vs. Interstitial mycosis fungoides
Junctional melanocytic nevus vs. Melanoma in situ on sun-damaged skin of a face
Keloid vs. Hypertrophic scar
Keratoacanthomatous verruca vulgaris vs. Verrucous keratoacanthoma
Leukocytoclastic vasculitis vs. livedo vasculitis
Leukokeratosis vs. Leukoplakia
Lichen amyloidosis vs. Colloid milium
Lichen nitidus vs. Lichen striatus
Lichen planus-like keratosis vs. Solar keratosis with lichenoid infiltrate of lymphocytes
Lichen planus vs. Lichen planus-like keratosis
Lichen planus vs. Lichenoid discoid lupus erythematosus
Lichen planus vs. lichenoid drug eruption
Lichen planus vs. Lichenoid secondary syphilis
Lichen sclerosus et atrophicus vs. Chronic radiation dermatitis
Lichen sclerosus et atrophicus vs. Superficial morphea
Lichen simplex chronicus vs. Hypertrophic lichen planus
Lichenoid purpura (of Gougerot and Blum) vs. Mycosis fungoides (plaque stage)
Lupus erythematosus profundus vs. Panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma
Lupus profundus vs. Morphea profundus
Lymphocytoma cutis with lymphoid follicles vs. Follicular-cell lymphoma
Lymphomatoid papulosis vs. Mycosis fungoides, plaque
Metastatic carcinoma from a breast vs. Morpheiform basal-cell carcinoma
Morphea, late stage vs. Collagenous nevus
Mucha-Habermann disease vs. Secondary syphilis
Mucha-Habermann disease vs. Lymphomatoid papulosis
Mycosis fungoides, papular/plaque stage vs. Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, papular stage
Mycosis fungoides, plaque vs. Histiocytosis X, plaque
Necrobiosis lipoidica vs. Necrobiotic xanthogranuloma
Nevus verrucosus vs. Acanthosis nigricans
Nodular fasciitis vs. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma
Nodular scabies vs. Lymphomatoid papulosis
Nodular vasculitis vs. Subcutaneous polyarteritis nodosa
Pagetoid Bowen's disease vs. Extramammary Paget's disease
Pale-cell acanthoma vs. Psoriasis, plaque expression
Papular mucinosis vs Interstitial granuloma annulare
Pemphigus vulgaris vs. Benign familial chronic pemphigus (Hailey-Hailey disease)
Pemphigus vulgaris vs. Grover's disease, pemphigus vulgaris-like
Perforating folliculitis vs. Elastosis perforans serpiginosa
Photoallergic dermatitis vs. Phototoxic dermatitis
Pityriasis lichenoides acuta vs. Pityriasis lichenoides chronica
Pityriasis rosea vs. Guttate dermatosis (mycosis fungoides)
Porokeratotic epidermal nevus vs. Inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal nevus
Pretibial myxedema vs. Scleromyxedema
Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy vs. Herpes gestationis, urticarial stage
Pseudocarcinomatous hyperplasia (as in a deep fungal infection) vs. Squamous-cell carcinoma
"Pseudolymphoma," B-cell type vs. Malignant lymphoma, B-cell type
Psoriasis on volar skin vs. Dyshidrotic dermatitis
Psoriasis vs. Nummular dermatitis
Psoriasis vs. Pityriasis rubra pilaris
Pyogenic granuloma, fully developed vs. Kaposi's sarcoma, nodular
Pyogenic granuloma vs. Bacillary angiomatosis
Regression of lichen planus-like keratosis vs. Regression of primary cutaneous melanoma
Scleroderma (morphea) vs. Scleredema (Buschke)
Sebaceous hyperplasia vs. Nevus sebaceus of Jadassohn
Seborrheic keratosis, acanthotic type vs. Eccrine poroma
Solar keratosis vs. Bowen's disease
Spitz's nevus, compound type vs. Melanoma
Spongiotic dermatitis with simulation of Pautrier's collections vs. Mycosis fungoides with Pautrier's collections
Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (expression of toxic epidermal necrolysis) vs. Erythema multiforme (expression of toxic epidermal necrolysis)
Subcutaneous granuloma annulare vs. Rheumatoid nodule
Surface of dermatofibroma affiliated with follicular germs vs. Surface of superficial basal-cell carcinoma
Syringocystadenoma papilliferum vs. Hidradenoma papilliferum
Trichoadenoma vs. Microcystic adnexal carcinoma
Trichoblastoma, small nodular type vs. Basal-cell carcinoma, small nodular type
Trichoblastoma, small nodular type vs. Trichoblastoma, large nodular type
Trichoblastoma, trichoepitheliomatous type vs. Trichoblastic (basal-cell) carcinoma, nodular type
Trichoepithelioma vs. Infundibulocystic basal-cell carcinoma
Trichotillomania (developed fully) vs. Traction alopecia (end stage)
Tuberculoid leprosy vs. Sarcoidosis
Urticaria vs. Urticarial lesions of bullous pemphigoid
Urticarial reaction to an arthropod assault vs. Urtica
Verruca vulgaris vs. Verrucous solar keratosis
Verrucous seborrheic keratosis vs. Verrucous epidermal nevus
Xanthogranuloma vs. Necrobiotic xanthogranuloma
Xanthogranuloma vs. Reticulohistiocytic granuloma
Xanthomatous dermatofibroma vs. Xanthomatous malignant fibrous histiocytoma