The appearance of an external genital lesion may engender considerable
anxiety in a patient. From the medical professional perspective, genital lesions
pose serious diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Genital skin can erode
or ulcerate, develop dyschromia (hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation) or
erythema, and either thicken or atrophy in discrete or generalized fashions.
However, genital lesions may result from many etiologies including sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs), non-STD infectious agents, inflammatory cutaneous
disorders, multisystem diseases, benign and malignant neoplasms, and exogenous
(external) factors (Table 1).1