Lupus vulgaris (also known as tuberculosis luposa[1]) are painful cutaneous tuberculosis skin lesions with nodular appearance, most often on the face around the nose, eyelids, lips, cheeks, ears[2] and neck. It is the most common Mycobacterium tuberculosis skin infection.[3] The lesions may ultimately develop into disfiguring skin ulcers if left untreated.
Lupus vulgaris often develops due to inadequately treated pre-existing tuberculosis.[3] It may also develop at site of BCG vaccination.[4] Rarely, it has been shown to be associated with tattoo marks.[5]
In the 19th century, the chronic and progressive nature of this disease was particularly marked: it remained active for ten years, twenty years, or even longer and, proved resistant to all treatment until the breakthrough by Niels Ryberg Finsen using a form of "concentrated light radiation" or light therapy (now known as photobiomodulation) which won him a Nobel Prize.
The inscription on a bronze statue of Queen Alexandra of Great Britain, (1844–1925), consort to Edward VII, at the Royal London Hospital, notes that she "introduced to England the Finsen light cure for Lupus, and presented the first lamp to this hospital".
The term "lupus" (meaning "wolf" in Latin) to describe an ulcerative skin disease dates to the late thirteenth century, though it was not until the mid-nineteenth that two specific skin diseases were classified as lupus erythematosus and lupus vulgaris. The term may derive from the rapacity and virulence of the disease; a 1590 work described it as "a malignant ulcer quickly consuming the neather parts; ... very hungry like unto a woolfe".[7]
^Rapini, Ronald P.; Bolognia, Jean L.; Jorizzo, Joseph L. (2007). Dermatology: 2-Volume Set. St. Louis: Mosby. pp. Chapter 74. ISBN978-1-4160-2999-1.
^James, William D.; Berger, Timothy G.; et al. (2006). Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: clinical Dermatology. Saunders Elsevier. p. 335. ISBN978-0-7216-2921-6.
^ abcdefghDermatology: An Illustrated Colour Text, 3rd ed. Elsevier Health Sciences. 2002. p. 46. ISBN9780443071409.
^ abcDermatology - A colour handbook, 2nd ed. Manson Publishing. 2010. p. 216. ISBN9781840765960.
