Epidermal reaction patterns

Abstract

Changes in the epidermis serve as important histopathological clues to the diagnosis of skin disorders. These peculiar changes are referred to as epidermal reaction patterns. Certain epidermal reaction patterns such as acantholytic dyskeratosis, epidermolytic hyperkeratosis, cornoid lamellae and papillomatosis point towards a specific diagnosis and hence it is important to recognise them. In this article, we have reviewed the histopathological appearance of these reaction patterns as well as their etiology and the conditions in which they are seen.

Keywords

• Acantholytic dyskeratosis
• cornoid lamellae
• epidermolytic hyperkeratosis
• papillomatosis