Lupus and lupoid misnomer: issues and challenges

Abstract

Misnomers are terms for any of medical conditions whose name does not reflect the pathophysiological reality. In the field of dermatology, it is interesting to note that there are some misnomers about lupus. Lupus is Latin for wolf, and it comes from the facial appearance that was thought to resemble the bites of a wolf. Until the 19th century, lupus was most commonly caused by cutaneous tuberculosis (TB), so some of the misnomer related to TB. Other misnomers encountered in lupus have arisen from the lack of understanding of the underlying etiology, pathogenesis and histopathological features, due to imprecise translations.