EXFOLIATIVE DERMATOSIS AND MALIGNANT ERYTHRODERMA

I propose to consider the value and limitations of histopathologic studies as an aid in the diagnosis of seventy-three cases of exfoliative dermatitis and sixteen cases of generalized erythroderma. The study includes cases of exfoliative dermatitis of the primary or idiopathic type (Wilson) and cases secondary to various types of dermatosis, such as psoriasis, eczema, seborrheic dermatitis, lichen planus and the administration of drugs, particularly arsenic. The study will also include cases of exfoliative dermatitis and erythroderma associated with the different manifestations of lymphoblastoma, which include mycosis fungoides, leukemia cutis, Hodgkin's disease and lymphosarcoma. The term "malignant erythroderma" is used to designate a generalized or universal erythrodermatous phase of any of the types of lymphoblastoma, in which the clinical picture is not diagnostic and in which insufficient scaling is present to justify the term exfoliative dermatitis. When a patient presents either universal erythroderma or exfoliative dermatitis, the clinical features