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Abstract Erythema multiforme (EM) is a relatively common skin disorder, accounting for up to 1% of the out-patient dermatology clinics. It has been clinically recognized for more than I 00 years smce its initial description by Hebra in 1866 (Finan and Schroeter,1984). Erythema multiforme, as the name emplies, may be extremely variable with regard to the spectrum of cutaneow; lesions present, the associated systemic signs and symptoms, the aetiology, the specific cause, and the tendency for episodes to recur. Since Hebra’s early coining of the term EM, the concept of the disease has been confused, so that there is little agreement among clinicians as to the exact boundaries of the disease (Jorizzo, 1995). So, any rational discussion of EM is hampered by the fact that not all physicians agree on what it is. Even a cursory review of the medical literature will convince one that great differences exist in the type of illnesses that have been discussed and investigated under the name of EM. It has never been entirely clear whether EM is a single disease with different de.£,rrees of evolution of skin lesions, as proposed by Hebra, or whether it is a syndrome that includes a variety of different types of acute eruptions. The latter concept of EM, as a syndrome with variety of clinical characteristics and causes, has been the modern concept of EM. Acute eruptions with systemic symptoms and mucosal erosions, as described by Stevens and Johnson (1922) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (Lyell, 1956) are commonly discussed as part of the spectrum of EM. |