Syphilis Mimicking Other Dermatological Diseases: Reactive Arthritis and Mucha-Habermann Disease

Abstract

The authors present two cases of syphilis: one mimicking reactive arthritis and the other Mucha-Habermann disease. Both reports illustrate syphilis as ‘the great imitator’, a description given by Sir William Osler, and call attention to the strong need for awareness among physicians of all specialties, especially the younger ones, who are not used to seeing this increasingly prevalent disease, as it once was in the past.

Keywords

• Syphilis
• Reactive arthritis
• Reiter syndrome
• Mucha-Habermann disease