Histopathology of Cutaneous Lesions in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

This paper pertains to newer histopathologic and histochemical procedures in regard to the cutaneous lesions of systemic lupus erythematosus, especially in regard to the presence of nucleic acids in connective-tissue cells and other cells and the relation of the activity of connective-tissue cells to the extracellular factors of dermal connective tissue, including ground substance. We do not intend to review the characteristic histopathologic features of various types of lupus erythematosus. This has been done recently by Ellis and Bundick*and also, over a period of years, by one of us (Montgomery) and his associates.† Klemperer‡ has summarized the pathologic findings in the internal organs in this disease. Hargraves and co-workers⁹have stated that the main characteristic of the lupus erythematosus (L.E.) cell is the loss of chromatin pattern in the fragmented and phagocytized nucleic material; thus, there is a question of disintegration of nucleopro