A macule is a change in epidermis color, without elevation or depression and, therefore, nonpalpable, well or ill-defined[1], variously sized but, by convention, less than ten milimeters in diameter at the widest point.[2][nb 1] This skin lesion is recognizable due to the color difference compared with the surrounding normal skin[3], and may be of any color, white, blue, or red for example.[2] Macules may be the result of hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation, vascular abnormalities, capillary dilatation (erythema), or purpura (extravasated red blood cells).[4] Diseases of the skin that present with maculae include, but are not limited to, vitiligo, melasma, and junctional nevi.[1]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ With regard to the quote "...by convention, less than one centimeter in diameter at the widest point," depending on which text is referenced, some authors state the cutoff between a macule and a patch as 0.5cm, not 1cm, while others state an entirely different measurement. Therefore, for this article, the 1cm cutoff is used which is discussed in Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology (see references), a work considered by some dermatologists as an authority on this subject matter.
References
- ^ a b Wolff, Klaus; Johnson, Richard; Suurmond, Dick (2005). Fitzpatrick's Color Atlas and Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-144019-4.
- ^ a b James, William; Berger, Timothy; Elston, Dirk (2005) Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology (10th ed.). Saunders. Page 15. ISBN 0721629210.
- ^ Marks, James G; Miller, Jeffery (2006). Lookingbill and Marks' Principles of Dermatology (4th ed.). Elsevier Inc. ISBN 1-4160-3185-5.
- ^ Freedberg, et al. (2003). Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine. (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional. Page 13. ISBN 0071380760.
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