title: Arthritis and skin disease.
abstract: Skin lesions are frequently a harbinger of an underlying rheumatic disease or may be of great help in achieving the diagnosis of an underlying joint or connective tissue disease. For this reason, the evaluation of the skin is mandatory for the rheumatologist. In fact, the skin is the most accessible organ and often provides valuable diagnostic clues. Pattern recognition of skin lesions is based upon the type, configuration, distribution, and evolution of the lesions; selective laboratory techniques may further assist the diagnosis. This article focuses on the most relevant cutaneous disease in patients with rheumatic disease and emphasizes those characteristic features that will allow the clinician to identify cutaneous lesions that are commonly associated with musculoskeletal syndromes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 18, 50139 Florence, Italy. chiarangot@katamail.com
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Angotti
mesh_terms: D015535:Arthritis, Psoriatic / Q000150:complications; D003882:Dermatomyositis / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000150:complications; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D012598:Sclerosis / Q000150:complications; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000150:complications; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000150:complications