Korean J Dermatol.  2011 Jun;49(6):538-541.

Intralymphatic Histiocytosis: A Rare Self-limited Disease

• Park O
• Noh TK
• Haw S
• Jang KA
• Won CH
• Chang SE
• Lee MW
• Choi JH
• Moon KC

Abstract

There have been a small number of recent case reports of patients with erythematous patches around the joints, which histopathologically showed histiocytic aggregations in the dermal vessels. Intralymphatic histiocytosis (ILH) is a rare group of skin diseases that are characterized by the proliferation of histiocytes in a lymphatic vessel lumen, and this is thought to arise as a benign reaction to certain stimuli such as rheumatoid arthritis. The pathogenesis of this intralymphatic proliferation of histiocytes and the reasons they commonly present on the arms are still unknown. We report on a case of ILH with arthritis in a 68-year old female who had no underlying disease, and the ILH presented as irregular erythematous patches on the left antecubital area and these patches demonstrated the distinctive histopathological features of intralymphatic histiocytosis.

Keyword

Intralymphatic histiocytosis; Rheumatoid arthritis

MeSH Terms

Arm
Arthritis
Arthritis, Rheumatoid
Female
Glycosaminoglycans
Histiocytes
Histiocytosis
Humans
Joints
Lymphatic Vessels
Skin Diseases
Glycosaminoglycans