Macule

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

The macule is the simplest dermatological lesion. It is flat and can only be seen and not felt. The macule is noted by a change in color of the skin. It may be brown, blue, red or exhibit a lesser pigment or an absence of pigment. The color of the lesion is one way in which a diagnosis may be focused.

Macules may develop as a result of cystic or otherwise severe acne. They occur after a pimple or cyst has healed, and may remain for up to six months. They are sometimes known in such cases as "pseudo-scars", but unlike true scars they are not permanent.

Examples of macular lesions and disorders[edit | edit source]

• Freckle
• Vitiligo
• Tinea versicolor
• Becker's nevus
• Café-au-lait spot
• Erythrasma
• Fixed drug eruption
• Junctional nevus
• Lentigo maligna
• Lentigo
• Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia
• Melasma
• Phototoxic drug eruption
• Stasis dermatitis
• Mongolian spot

Macules by color[edit | edit source]

Brown[edit | edit source]

• Becker's nevus
• Café-au-lait spot
• Freckle
• Melasma
• Photoxic drug eruption

Blue[edit | edit source]

• Ink (tattoo)
• Mongolian spot
• Ochronosis

Red[edit | edit source]

• Drug eruptions
• Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
• Rheumatic fever
• Viral exanthems

Hypopigmented[edit | edit source]

• Piebaldism
• Radiation dermatitis
• Vitiligo
• Tuberous sclerosis

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