What does “lichenoid” mean? The term lichenoid has at least three commonly accepted applications/definitions: - Originally, the term lichenoid referred to a clinical resemblance of such eruptions to lichens (complex organism consisting of a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and an alga).
- Lichen planus (LP) is the prototypical disease within this category, and eruptions sharing clinical features with LP may be described as “lichenoid.”
- Lichenoid also refers to a specific histologic tissue reaction pattern manifesting as a “bandlike” infiltrate of mononuclear inflammatory cells (predominantly lymphocytes) immediately subjacent to the dermal - epidermal junction, typical of LP.
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