PULSATING ANGIOMA (GENERALIZED TELANGIECTASIA) OF THE SKIN ASSOCIATED WITH HEPATIC DISEASE

Abstract

The association of two uncommon and apparently unrelated conditions in the same patient is unusual. When this association occurs more frequently than can be explained by mere coincidence it must have some significance. Such an association was first drawn to attention when Osler¹ observed that "angiomata have a curious relationship with affections of the liver." It seems that this association is more frequent than a review of the literature indicates, and it is my purpose to draw further attention to it, review the pertinent facts and present 6 cases recently observed at the Mayo Clinic. CHARACTERISTICS OF CUTANEOUS ANGIOMA Though the cutaneous vascular lesions vary considerably in appearance, depending on their size, they all exhibit two essential characteristics: (1) a central angiomatous portion and (2) radiating telangiectatic vessels. The central portion varies from a bright red, punctate vascular point to a deep red, smooth, compressible elevation the size of