GENERALIZED ANGIOMATOSIS (TELANGIECTASIA)

Abstract

Generalized telangiectasia may be an important sign of constitutional disease, or the small lesions may be only blemishes of cosmetic importance. During the past year a number of cases of generalized angiomatosis were referred to the dermatologic division for an opinion, and the information gained from the investigation of these cases has served as the basis for this report. The cases of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia are by far the more important because of a higher percentage of fatal terminations. The condition may be defined as a hereditary disease of the small blood vessels characterized by the formation of multiple, permanent, localized dilatations of the capillaries and venules, which may give rise to apparently spontaneous and often recurrent hemorrhages. The telangiectasia has been most frequently noted in the skin of the face and in the mucosa of the mouth and nose. The hemorrhages occur most commonly in the form of recurrent