Dermatologic manifestations of rheumatic disorders

Many rheumatic disorders have cutaneous lesions and sometimes skin lesions are the initial or most problematic manifestation of a patient's rheumatic disease. Many of the skin lesions encountered in these disorders are rather nonspecific. Other lesions, however, have characteristic and sometimes specific gross or histopathologic findings that often help the clinician diagnose the underlying rheumatic disease process. Additionally, drug-induced skin diseases are often encountered in patients being treated for rheumatic disease.