A Case for Diagnosis: Melanosis. Presented by Dr. Francesco Ronchese.
A boy aged 18, of Italian ancestry, has had pigmented plaques on the forehead and left side of the neck for about three months. A larger spot on the right side of the forehead is the site of a scraping injury incurred while playing basketball three months ago. There was no trauma or other external reason for the appearance of the other lesions. There was slight itching at first only. The patient uses no laxatives; he takes 2 or 3 tablets of Empirin compound every two or three weeks for headaches. He underwent a sinus operation three years ago. He has had no contact with chemicals.
There are brownish-black plaques with irregular, circinate borders and darker edges on the forehead. An oval, pityriasis-rosea-like patch of the same color is seen on the left side of the neck. The spots