Pathology of cutaneous lupus erythematosus

The only histologic finding common to all types of lupus erythematosus lesions is a perivascular lymphocytic infiltrate. The other histologic changes in lupus erythematosus are entirely dependent on the morphology and age of the individual lesions biopsied. We do not believe that the main clinical subsets of lupus erythematosus can be reliably diagnosed on the basis of histology alone. Some of the less common forms of lupus erythematosus have distinctive but not pathognomonic, histopathologic features. The pathogenesis of most of the histologic changes is relatively unknown, leaving room for speculation and future research.