Papule: Or something else? Differential Diagnosis

Congenital malformations, deformities, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99).

  • Darier’s disease (dyskeratosis follicularis vegetans) – genetic skin disorder with autosomal dominant inheritance associated with the formation of papules, redness, and swelling.
  • Nevus araneus (synonyms: Nevus stellatus; spider nevus, star nevus, or vascular spider or Eppinger’s star, spider nevus, spider nevi) – change occurring in children or in advanced liver disease, in which a central papule is surrounded by star-shaped venules (small veins).
  • Tuberous sclerosis (Bourneville-Pringle disease) – autosomal dominant genetic disorder associated with malformations and tumors of the brain, skin lesions, and usually benign (benign) tumors in other organ systems

Blood, blood-forming organs – immune system (D50-D90).

Skin and subcutaneous (L00-L99).

  • Acanthosis nigricans – dirty brown to gray skin lesions, usually bilateral symmetrical in axillae, flexures, and neck and genital areas.
  • Acne
  • Granulomatous rosacea – chronic inflammatory skin disease that manifests itself on the face; form of rosacea that is mainly noticeable by brownish-red papules.
  • Keratosis pilaris (rubbing skin).
  • Lichen ruber planus (nodular lichen)
  • Milaria rubra (red dog) – mainly in the tropics occurring skin rash (heat pimples, sweat pimples).
  • Milum (skin gravel)
  • Molluscum contagiosum (dell warts)
  • Pityriasis lichenoides chronica – chronic symmetrical exanthema (rash) on the trunk and extremities.
  • Polymorphosis light dermatosis – a delayed light reaction of the skin associated with different efflorescences (skin changes).
  • Psoriasis guttata – psoriasis with droplet-sized foci.
  • Scabies (scabies)
  • Seborrheic keratosis (synonyms: Age wart (seborrheic keratosis); Verruca seborrhoica; seborrheic wart.
  • Pedunculate warts
  • Verruca (warts)
  • Xanthoma – skin lesion resulting from increased storage of plasma lipoproteins in the skin in the context of hyperlipoproteinemias.

Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

  • Anthrax
  • Pediculosis capitis (synonyms: head lice infestation, pediculosis due to Pediculus humanus capitis) – refers to infestation of the scalp with the head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis).
  • Pulicosis (flea infestation) – here: usually multiple, grouped standing in rows or asymmetrically arranged papules.
  • Syphilis (lues, venereal disease).
  • Toxoplasmosis – infectious disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, which belongs to the protozoa.
  • Viral infections, unspecified (e.g. varicella (chickenpox)).

Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48).

  • Age hemangioma (hemangioma).
  • Basal cell carcinoma (BCC; basal cell carcinoma), early form (pale papule (to pale nodule/nodule), which not infrequently has a depression in the center and is further bulging wall-like on the outside)
  • Kaposi’s sarcoma (pronounced [ˈkɒpoʃi] – “Kaposchi”) – a tumor disease occurring mainly in connection with AIDS, the cause of which is most likely due to human herpes virus type 8 (HHV-8) in conjunction with cofactors (immunosuppression, environmental factors, and oxidative and nitrosative stress). The disease is manifested by the appearance of brown-bluish tumor nodules from which plaque-like and nodular tumors develop. In case of truncal infestation usually exanthematous spreading of the skin lesions. In addition, lymph nodes are affected; less frequently, the gastrointestinal tract, liver, lungs or heart are affected. Men are more frequently affected than women. In the AIDS-associated form, brown-bluish spots multifocal usually also appear on the skin of the legs and arms.
  • Malignant melanoma (black skin cancer).

Injuries, poisoning, and other consequences of external causes (S00-T98).

  • Insect bites