title: The ridgeback anomaly. A new follicular pattern of the scalp.
abstract: A patient with an anomaly of hair pattern development is described. Scalp hair follicles generally grow at a downward inclination to the scalp surface. Normal whorled patterns appear in the posteroparietal area. The patient described was noted to have a whorled hair pattern located over the right temporoparietal region, growing in a clockwise direction. The remainder of the scalp adopted the upward follicular growth pattern of the posterior portion of the whorl, directed toward the apical anatomic axis. A ridge of hair over the nape of the neck reversed direction, similar to hair growth on the Rhodesian Ridgeback dog, growing in a downward manner. The relationship of this new hair pattern to current theories of scalp hair pattern development is reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Samlaska
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Benson
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: James
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D006197:Hair / Q000002:abnormalities*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012535:Scalp / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000502:physiology