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REPORT OF A CASE A 38-year-old white man was involved in an automobile accident in 1967 with resulting damage to the T-10 vertebrae and chronic pain. Two years ago, the patient bought a chair with an electric vibrator and a heater cushion to ease his lower back pain. He started using it every night for a few hours while watching television. One month after starting the device, an eruption developed on his lower back. The eruption was sometimes accompanied by crusted areas on the location where the heater and vibrator touched his skin. Figure 1 shows the diffuse, blue-to-purple erythematous reticulated eruption, with hyperpigmentation of the lower back without vesicles or hyperkeratosis. A 3-mm punch biopsy specimen was obtained from this area. Histologic findings are demonstrated in Fig 2. What is your diagnosis? DIAGNOSIS: Erythema ab igne. DISCUSSION Erythema ab igne, otherwise known as toasted skin syndrome, 1,2 is a persistent macular erythema and hyperpigmentation occurring in a

† We describe a family with typical epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) in which only male members are affected. Whereas none of the index patient's ten children have EV, four of eight grandsons born to his daughters have inherited the disorder. All are infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) 3 and HPV 8. The inheritance in this kindred most likely results from an X-linked recessive genetic defect. Since other kindreds have been described with autosomal inheritance, this novel inheritance pattern suggests that the persistent high clinical susceptibility to HPV infection characteristic of EV may result from defects in either of at least two different genetic loci, one of which may be located on the X chromosome. (Arch Dermatol1985;121:864-868)

Idiopathic calcinosis of the scrotum, which is a rarely reported condition of unknown etiology, may be easily misdiagnosed as epidermal or pilar cysts. Histologically, the diagnosis is easy and quite typical. Report of a Case A 24-year-old man was admitted to The Chaim Sheba Medical Center in November 1975 for removal of several asymptomatic scrotal cysts of several years' duration. Examination showed several firm, non-tender nodules of various sizes on the scrotum; the larger nodules were apparently formed from several smaller ones joined together (Fig 1). The diagnosis of epidermal cysts was made and all visible lesions were surgically removed. During surgery, some of the lesions were found to contain a viscous, thick, white-yellowish fluid. None contained an obvious sac. Postoperative recovery was uneventful. Results of the following laboratory tests were found to be either within normal limits or negative: complete blood count, ESR, routine urinalysis, VDRL, blood glucose, blood

• A 49-year-old man was found to have a rare, mutilating basal cell epithelioma of the face. Conventional early therapy with surgery and radiotherapy did not halt the progress of the disease in a hospital environment. The patient died 12 years later. ( Arch Dermatol 114:239-240, 1978)