TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Pathology of the Skin A1 - Miedema, Jayson R. A1 - Sayed, Christopher J. A1 - Zedek, Daniel C. A2 - Reisner, Howard M. PY - 2020 T2 - Pathology: A Modern Case Study, 2e AB - A 77-year-old woman presents to a local emergency room after developing numerous blisters over her trunk and extremities. She reports that she recently developed an intensely pruritic (itchy) red rash, and the next morning she was alarmed when she woke and noticed large, painful blisters erupting within the rash. Examination shows numerous tense bullae with erythematous, indurated borders over the trunk and extremities. A dermatologist is called for consultation and performs a punch biopsy from the edge of one of the large blisters. Clinical image and results of hematoxylin and eosin staining are shown in Figure 21-1.Microscopic examination is most notable for a split at the dermoepidermal junction. While this finding can be seen in other blistering disorders, it is perhaps most characteristic of bullous pemphigoid. Bullous pemphigoid is an autoimmune blistering disorder caused by formation of pathogenic antibodies to a component of hemidesmosomes, most importantly bullous pemphigoid antigen 2, which is necessary for binding of the superficial component of the skin, the epidermis, to the deeper component, the dermis. An accompanying inflammatory infiltrate with prominent eosinophils is also highly indicative of bullous pemphigoid. As discussed in the cases later, further diagnostic studies using immunofluorescence can often help to confirm the diagnosis. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/16 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1173789616 ER -