Small Animal Dermatology, 3rd edition

chapter 12 Autoimmune Blistering Diseases...........................

DEFINITION/OVERVIEW

Pemphigus Complex

 Uncommon to rare autoimmune epidermal pustular dermatoses.

 Epidermal pustule and vesicle formation leads to varying degrees of erosion, ulcera-

tion, and crusting.

 Forms identified in animals:
Pemphigus foliaceus (PF)
Pemphigus erythematosus (PE)
Pemphigus vulgaris (PV)
Panepidermal pustular pemphigus/pemphigus vegetans (PEP/Pveg)
Paraneoplastic pemphigus (PP).

Pemphigoid Complex

 Very rare, autoimmune subepidermal blistering dermatoses (AISBD):
Bullous pemphigoid (BP)
Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MP).

Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita

 Chronic, very rare, autoimmune subepidermal blistering dermatosis.

 Most common AISBD.

 Also called cicatricial pemphigoid.

ETIOLOGY/PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

General Concepts

 Terminology:
Desmosome: major adhesion structure; creates tight connections between intra-

cellular intermediate filaments of adjacent cells

Hemidesmosome: major adhesion structure on the basal keratinocytes at the

epidermal-dermal junction

Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion: Small Animal Dermatology, Third Edition.
Karen Helton Rhodes and Alexander H. Werner.
©2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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