Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases
A broad group of disorders affecting the skin or connective tissues, arising from inflammatory, infectious, genetic, autoimmune, or other causes.
Skin: The body's outer organ, formed by the epidermis and dermis and connected to underlying tissues. Many disorders in this group begin in the skin's layers or appendages.
Inflammation: A coordinated tissue response to injury or harmful stimuli involving immune cells and signaling molecules. Inflammatory pathways drive many rashes and connective tissue lesions.
Dermatology: The medical specialty concerned with the skin, hair, nails, and related disorders. It evaluates skin findings across infectious, inflammatory, genetic, and systemic disease.
Eczema: A group of inflammatory skin conditions characterized by itchy, irritated skin. It contrasts with infections that may also cause redness, scaling, or itching.
Atopic Dermatitis: A chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with itch, impaired barrier function, and recurrent eczematous lesions. It illustrates how barrier dysfunction and immune activity can combine in skin disease.
Connective Tissue: Tissue that supports, binds, or separates other tissues, including bone, cartilage, tendons, and extracellular matrix. Diseases can target connective tissues throughout the body, not just the skin.
Type I Hypersensitivity: An immediate immune reaction in which IgE antibodies activate mast cells after allergen exposure. This mechanism explains allergic skin reactions such as hives.
Rheumatology: The medical specialty focused on inflammatory and autoimmune diseases of joints and connective tissues. It manages systemic disorders that may also produce skin signs.
Psoriasis: A chronic immune-mediated disease that produces sharply defined, scaly skin plaques. Its characteristic plaques differ from many eczematous and infectious eruptions.
Pemphigus Vulgaris: An autoimmune blistering disease in which antibodies disrupt adhesion between epidermal cells. It exemplifies antibody-driven damage to skin structure.