Lichen amyloidosus (Freudenthal1), or amyloidosis localis cutis nodularis et disseminata (Gutmann2), has become, since its description by these two authors, a well known clinical entity. The cause of the disease, however, is still unknown, and we think that every contribution to the knowledge of its clinical and pathologic features is of importance.
Koenigstein,3 in an interesting chapter on cutaneous amyloidosis, discussed all related problems known at the time and mentioned all authors working in this field. He divided amyloidosis of the skin into two principal classifications: (1) universal cutaneous amyloidosis and (2) localized forms. The localized forms, with which we are concerned in this paper, are further subdivided, with the following modifications: (1) similar to lichen simplex chronicus (Vidal), (2) with deviations from the Vidal form, (3) similar to lichen planus, (4) appearing as prurigo and (5) not similar to any known disease.
During the last decade