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. 2021 Apr 9:8:23742895211006844.
doi: 10.1177/23742895211006844. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.

Educational Case: Dermatitis Herpetiformis

Janina Markidan  1 , Richard Pfau  1 , Cinthia Drachenberg  1 , Kristen Stashek  1
Affiliations

Educational Case: Dermatitis Herpetiformis

Janina Markidan et al. Acad Pathol. .

Abstract

The following fictional case is intended as a learning tool within the Pathology Competencies for Medical Education (PCME), a set of national standards for teaching pathology. These are divided into three basic competencies: Disease Mechanisms and Processes, Organ System Pathology, and Diagnostic Medicine and Therapeutic Pathology. For additional information, and a full list of learning objectives for all three competencies, see http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2374289517715040.1.

Keywords: dermatitis herpetiformis; gluten hypersensitivity; hypersensitivity; immune diseases of the skin; organ system pathology; pathology competencies; skin.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Typical clinical picture of dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) with excoriated blisters and papules on the elbows and knees. Source: Reproduced with permission from Acta Dermato-Venerealogica.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Low-power field (×400) of hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain of the lesional biopsy. Subepidermal vesiculation and blistering with fibrin is seen as well as perivascular lymphocytes, histiocytes, and eosinophils.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
High-power field (×800) of H&E stain of the lesional biopsy. This view shows presence of numerous neutrophils and some eosinophils.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Immunoglobulin A (IgA) DIF showing granular deposits along the basement membrane that are more prominent at the tips of the dermal papillae (×400). DIF indicates direct immunofluorescence microscopy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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