24 year old woman who developed an annular, scaling, pruritic rash on her arm 12 days after adopting a new cat.
Tinea Corporis, commonly called "Ringworm" (see interesting origin of name, below)
The key characteristic of Tinea corporis is that the fungus involves the glabrous (relatively hairless) skin. The infection is limited to the stratum corneum of the epidermis. Vellus hair (the fine hair present on glabrous skin) may be invaded, and the hair follicle may serve as a reservoir for the fungus.Tinea pedis, Tinea manuun, and Tinea cruris are referred to Tinea corporis that is limited to the foot, hand, and groin, respectively. There is otherwise little special about them. History lesson: The term tinea has an interesting origin. A worm of a moth would sometimes grow on a woolen blanket. The resulting round holes were similar to the rounded lesions seen on the skin of patients. The genus name for the moth was Tinea, and thus this name was used as part of the Latin binomials naming these infections.
Transmission of tinea corporis may occur from direct contact with infected animals (especially cats and dogs), infected humans, or contaminated fomites such as furniture and clothing. Like many other fungal skin infections, warmth and humidity favor the occurrence of this infection. Therefore, tropical and subtropical regions have a higher incidence of tinea corporis [1320].
Tinea imbricata is an unusual form of Tinea corporis caused by T. concentricum. This form of Tinea is characterized by ring-like growth in overlapping circles that may have an autosomal dominant genetic predisposition [1724, 1915]. This may explain its geographic restriction to certain regions of the Far East, South Pacific, and South and Central America [310, 924].
Tinea corporis can present on any area of the body. Zoophilic organisms commonly affect exposed areas like the face, neck and arms. Oppositely, anthropophilic organisms classically affect occluded areas of the skin or areas of trauma. In regards to the clinical appearance, multiple varieties have been described, and to make things a little more confusing, many of them have distinct names although they are all forms of tinea corporis![1320].
Trichophyton verrucosum Natural habitat
Animals (stray cats and farm animals!) humans, soil
Charles E. Crutchfield III, MD
Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor of Dermatology
At the
University of Minnesota Medical School
Medical Director, Crutchfield Dermatology
www.CrutchfieldDermatology.com
References
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1207. Lesher, J. L., Jr. 1999. Oral therapy of common superficial fungal infections of the skin. J Am Acad Dermatol. 40:S31-4.
1222. Leyden, J. J., and A. M. Kligman. 1978. Interdigital athlete's foot. The interaction of dermatophytes and resident bacteria. Arch Dermatol. 114:1466-72.
1320. Martin, A. G., and G. S. Kobayashi. 1993. Fungal diseases with cutaneous involvement, p. 2421-2451. In T. B. Fitzpatrick (ed.), Dermatology in general medicine, vol. 2. McGraw-Hill, New York.
1504. Nolting, S., and M. Brautigam. 1992. Clinical relevance of the antibacterial activity of terbinafine: a contralateral comparison between 1% terbinafine cream and 0.1% gentamicin sulphate cream in pyoderma. Br J Dermatol. 126 Suppl 39:56-60.
1571. Pariser, D. M., R. J. Pariser, G. Ruoff, and T. L. Ray. 1994. Double-blind comparison of itraconazole and placebo in the treatment of tinea corporis and tinea cruris. J Am Acad Dermatol. 31:232-4.
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Information here taken from doctorfungus.org
