mottled_skin
Table of Contents
mottled skin (livedo reticularis)
see also:
Introduction
- mottled skin (also known as livedo reticularis) is generally pale cool skin with a reticular pattern of venous congestion, usually of all limbs - not just hands and feet as with Raynaud's phenomenon
Aetiology
benign idiopathic physiologic livedo reticularis
- exposure to cold leading to arteriolar vasospasm, especially common in young women.
- sometimes called cutis marmorata, typically resolves on warming and is harmless
venous obstruction usually within the trunk
- embolism, thrombosis, and cardiac conditions causing impaired circulation can manifest as livedo reticularis
- Severe form of this may result in phlegmasia caerula dolens or phlegmasia alba dolens
- life threatening thrombosis of ileo-femoral / pelvic veins +/- IVC
- consider urgent CT venogram
microvascular thrombosis
- antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)
- vasculitis (e.g., polyarteritis nodosa, microscopic polyangiitis)
arterial vasospasm
- medications and susbtances
- amantadine, ergotamine, cocaine, and thiouracil
other causes
- infections:
- Cushing's disease
- other endocrine conditions
mottled_skin.txt · Last modified: 2025/08/04 10:46 by gary1