Struck by lightning: Lichtenberg figures on a 19th-century wax model

Abstract

Wax models in dermatology were used to a large extent until the 1930s as three-dimensional models to illustrate various pathologic conditions and in particular cutaneous signs of disease. As an example, a young woman who was struck by lightning and developed Lichtenberg figures is presented. Lichtenberg figures are a fernlike pattern on skin, characteristic of lightning. Such a wax model housed in the German Hygiene Museum Dresden, Germany, illustrates the significance of wax models and how, even today, they can play an important role in medical education.