Blaschko's lines, also called the Lines of Blaschko, are skin lines invisible under normal conditions
- thought to represent pathways of epidermal cell migration and proliferation during the development of the fetus
- become apparent when some diseases of the skin or mucosa manifest themselves according to these patterns
- Blaschko lines are consistently V-shaped on the upper spine, S-shaped on the abdomen, inverted U-shaped from the breast area to the upper arm, and perpendicular down the front and back of the lower extremities
- they do not correspond to nervous, muscular, or lymphatic systems
- can be observed in other animals such as cats and dogs
- German dermatologist Alfred Blaschko is credited for the first demonstration of these lines in 1901
- Many inherited and some acquired skin conditions are distributed along Blaschko lines
Congenital Disorders | |
X-linked dominant skin disorders | Incontinentia pigmenti Focal dermal hypoplasia CHILD syndrome MLS syndrome Oral facial digital syndrome Type 1 X- linked dominant chondroplasia punctata |
Epithelial naevi | Inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal naevus Sebaceous naevus Non-organoid epidermal naevus |
Pigmentary disorders | Naevus achromicus (including hypomelanosis of Ito) McCune-Albright syndrome Segmental vitiligo |
Acquired disorders | |
Disorders with polygenic background | Linear lichen planus Linear cutaneous lupus erythematosus Lichen striatus Linear morphoea |
Reference:
- Blaschko's lines- Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
- Textbook of Dermatology .Ed Rook A, Wilkinson DS, Ebling FJB, Champion RH, Burton JL. Fourth edition. Blackwell Scientific Publications.
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