[Diagnostic errors in angiomas]

A comparison of clinical statements and histologic findings reveals a lower diagnostic success in angiomas, compared with other benign tumours. Cavernous forms of angiomas are very often not discerned. Capillary angiomas are misdiagnosed as cavernous ones, and teleangiectatic nevi as angiomas. Mistakes and their incidences are pointing not at real difficulties of differentialdiagnosis, but at wrong information of physicians as to the cause of errors. According to this supposition, a great part of textbooks in different medical disciplines offer no correct representation of this object. Our results reveal problems concerning the representation of some aspects of skin diseases outside of Dermatology. The diagnosis of angiomas, with special regard to the therapeutic consequences of the fundamental distinction of angiomas from angiectatic nevi by proliferation of endothelial cells, and of cavernous from capillary angiomas by vascular structure imitating arteries or veins, demands more attention in medical education.