Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis is yet another disease in which cutaneous lesions are but part of a more generalized process. Aggregates of characteristic histiocytes and histiocytic giant cells have been reported in lesions of skin and mucous membrane, subcutaneous nodules, voluntary muscle, synovia, bone and periosteum, lymph nodes, marrow, larynx, and endocardium. Orkin and associates,1 in the May issue of Archives of Dermatology, describe the essential features of 23 welldocumented cases which exhibit a variety of local and systemic signs and symptoms. Most of the patients were females; the ages ranged from 24 to 70.
Skin of the hands and fingers is almost always involved, with predominance of lesions on the paronychial region and the extensor and lateral surfaces of the interphalangeal joints. Forearms, elbows, scalp, forehead, nose, ears, neck, and upper trunk are other common sites. Usually firm and described as red, brown, yellow, or fleshcolored, they may number hundreds