The mucocutaneous manifestations and pathergy reaction in Behçet's disease

Abstract

The diagnosis of Behçet's disease is based on clinical features. There is no specific diagnostic test. Skin-mucosa lesions like recurrent aphtous stomatitis, genital ulcers, and various cutaneous lesions are its foremost manifestations. The presence of erythema nodosum-like lesions, pseudofolliculitis, papulopustular lesions, acneiform nodules, subcutaneous thrombophlebitis, and cutaneous hyperreactivity (pathergy) are included in the criteria of the International Study Group for Behçet's Disease even though there is debate that the presence of some of these lesions in any one patient might be coincidental. Skin lesions in Behçet's disease may differ in both clinical and histopathologic appearance during the disease course and the common underlying pathology is a vasculitis affecting blood vessels of all sizes. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.