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Six Archetypical Patterns

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Mosaicism in Human Skin

Abstract

Six well established archetypical patterns of cutaneous mosaicismcan be distinguished. The best known pattern is the system of Blaschko’s lines. Analogous linear or sectorial patterns of mosaicism have been documented in other human organs such as the bones, the teeth, the lens, and the retina. Moreover, the hereditary trait brindle as noted in dogs, cattle, horses and other mammals represents a perfect counterpart of the human lines of Blaschko. - The checkerboard pattern is characterized by flag-like or block-like patches. In the phylloid pattern, the leaf-like or oblong macules are reminiscent of the floral ornaments of Jugendstil or art nouveau. Large round patches without midline separation are the archetypical pattern of giant melanocytic nevi. A peculiar pattern of lateralization is noted in the X-linked dominant, male-lethal trait, CHILD syndrome. The sash-like pattern, as documented in children with cutis tricolor of the Ruggieri-Happle type, is characterized by large oblique hyper- or hypopigmented macules reminiscent of a sash, and by large round or flag-like areas of hyper- or hypopigmention. This pattern does not respect the dorsal and ventral midline.

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  1. Department of Dermatology, Freiburg University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany

    Rudolf Happle

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Happle, R. (2014). Six Archetypical Patterns. In: Mosaicism in Human Skin. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38765-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38765-4_5

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