[Ultrastructure of the epidermis in seborrhoic dermatitis (author's transl)]

Electronmicroscopical investigation on 12 cutaneous biopsies of different localisation showed that the seborrhoic dermatitis is not comparable to a psoriatic tissue-reaction. Both, the cyto-morphological feature and the demonstrated localisation of the acid phosphatase are distinctly different from that of the psoriatic epidermis. The described changes are clearly more similar to the well known ultrastructural pictures of eczemateous reactions. In spite of the "eczema-like" ultrastructural picture seborrhoic dermatitis apparently can be separated from the allergic and irritant contact-dermatitis. Nevertheless, the epidermal alterations are also similar to chronic nummular eczema. They therefore are unspecific and do not allow any conclusion regarding the etiopathogenesis or nosological classification of this skin disease.