Dermatology Online Journal

Foods and places in dermatological terms
Khalid Al Aboud MD¹, Khalid Al Hawasawi MD¹, V Ramesh MD¹, Daifullah Al Aboud MD², and Ahmed Al Githami MD³
Dermatology Online Journal 9(3): 24

1. Dermatology Unit, Department of MedicineKing Faisal Hospital, Taif, Saudi Arabia 2. Dermatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Jiad Hospital , Makkah , Saudi Arabia. 3. Dermatology division, Department of medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh , Saudi Arabia . amoa65@hotmail.com

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To the Editor

Historically, many terms in dermatology are Latin-based. However, many are descriptive and compare the clinical appearance of a condition to the appearance a known object. Futhermore, some terms are derived from an area of the world where a disease is common or where it was first described. We have collected those terms in dermatology that are linked to foods (Table I) and to geographical places(Table II).

Foods linked to dermatology[1, 2]

• Apple green: birefringence of amyloidosis
• Apple jelly: lupus vulgaris
• Blueberry muffin: vascular anomaly
• Cauliflower ear: trauma or inflammation
• Cayenne pepper spots: petechial macules in pigmented purpuras
• Champagne bottle (inverted): appearance of legs in motor and sensory neuropathy type 1
• Framboesia (raspberry): yaws
• Peau d'orange: orange-peel appearance of infiltrative conditions
• Furfuraceous (branlike): scaling in tinea versicolor
• Grapes and bananas: microscopy in tinea versicolor
• Honey-coloured crust: impetigo
• Hordeolum (barleycorn): stye
• Kerion (honeycomb): tinea capitis
• Lemon-on-sticks: appearance of Cushing disease
• Lemon yellow: color in renal failure
• Lentil: lentigo
• Lobster claw: deformity in Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18)
• Milium: milia
• Mulberry molar: tooth of congenital syphilis
• Nutmeg grater: papulation on dorsa of hands in pityriasis rubra pilaris
• Ostraceous: oyster-like scales in psoriasis
• Pityriasis: bran-like scaling in many dermatoses
• Plucked chicken-skin: appearance of pseudoxanthoma elasticum
• Port: color of urine in erythropoietic porphyria
• Port-wine stain: vascular anomaly
• Spaghetti and meatballs: microscopy of tinea versicolor
• Strawberry, cherry: hemangioma
• Salmon patch: birthmark
• Tapioca pudding: vesicles in pompholyx
• Tripe palms: association with acanthosis nigricans

Geographic locales in dermatology[3, 4]

• Bagdad (Iraq): Bagdad boil (oriental sore)
• Brazil: Brazilian blastomycosis, Brazilian pemphigus
• Buruli (Uganda): Buruli ulcer
• Calabar (Nigeria): Calabar swellings in loasis
• Dum-Dum (Calcutta): Dum-Dum fever (kala-azar)
• Ebola (river in Zaire): Ebola virus disease
• Fort Bragg (North Carolina): Fort Bragg fever (Leptospira autumnalis)
• Guinea (West Africa): Guinea worm (Dracuncula medinensis)
• Hong Kong: Hong Kong foot (tinea pedis)
• Katayama (mountain in Japan): Katayama disease (Schistosoma japonicum)
• La Oroya (Peru): Oroya fever (Carrion disease)
• Lyme (Connecticut): Lyme disease (tick-borne spirochete)
• Madura (South India): maduramycosis
• Major river systems (Japan): japanese river fever
• Malaya: Malayan filariasis
• Marburg (Germany): Marburg virus disease
• Marseilles (South Africa): Marseilles fever (rickettsia)
• Mediterranean Sea: familial Mediterranean fever
• Meleda (Yugoslav island): mal de Meleda
• Nairobi: Nairobi eye
• Norway: norwegian or keratotic scabies
• Pearl Harbor: Pearl Harbor itch
• Rocky Mountains (Colorado): Colorado tick fever (rickettsia)
• Rocky Mountain (North America): Rocky Mountain spotted fever (riskettsia)
• San Joaquin (California): San Joaquin valley fever (coccidiomycosis)
• South Africa: South African porphyria
• Tangier Island: Tangier disease
• Tokelau (New Zealand): Tokelau ringworm
• Tulare (California): Tularemia

References

1. Bernhardt M. Archives a century ago: Key. Arch Dermatol 1999;135:1121

2. Holme SA, Varma S. Delicious dermatology! Arch Dermatol 1999;135:1121

3. Lin AN, Imaeda S. A dermatologic gazetteer. Int J Dermatol 1990;29:468-471

4. Stewart WD. Geographic dermatology. Int J Dermatol 1990;29:477-478

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