POLYARTERITIS nodosa may be accompanied by skin lesions more frequently than is commonly supposed. We are here reporting a case of dermatitis gangrenosa in which previously unsuspected periarteritis nodosa was found at autopsy. The possible presence of this disease should more frequently be considered in skin conditions of the sort reported here.
The patient, a blond 18-year-old service man, was admitted to the dermatology service of the United States Naval Hospital, Philadelphia, on Nov. 1, 1949, with a scaling pruritic eruption of the feet and trunk. This had developed gradually over the preceding four weeks, and he had received mild local treatment. Within the next two weeks, the eruption spread so that it involved the abdomen, back, axillae, and groin and acted like a widespread tinea corporis. The diagnosis of tinea corporis was confirmed by study of potassium hydroxide preparations of scrapings. The condition rapidly regressed under