Köbner, Renbök, Wolf phenomena and so on… has the time come for simplification?

Abstract

Since the end of the 19th century, dermatologists have observed that skin conditions may respond (or not) to a wide variety of skin injuries or even to other existing skin conditions. Attempts were made to name and classify such phenomena: Köbner phenomenon, Wolf's isotopic response, Renbök phenomenon, etc. However, over time, further subtleties and nuances came to be grafted onto the initial descriptions, while comparable phenomena were described using different terms, all of which resulted in considerable confusion in the literature. Herein we review the history, semantics and nosology of these different phenomena. We also propose the use of a simpler, more homogenous and universal nomenclature that distinguishes between affinity and sparing phenomena, whether isomorphic or isotopic and which is based on the lesions involved (trauma, vaccination, radiotherapy, neurologic defect, herpes, genetic mosaicism and so on).