The Phlebectasias of Old Age—incidence and Diagnostic Importance

Abstract

The angiokeratoma of Fordyce, “caviar” tongue, venous lake, and senile angioma are common in people over 70 years old. A study of these phlebectasias was made in 390 male subjects in a geriatric home and hospital. A statistical analysis regarding the incidence of various combinations of these lesions indicated that, in the elderly, their coexistence in the same person is only accidental. It seems that local factors predominate as the cause, and it is not possible to demonstrate the presence of a systemic disposition such as generalized ageing of the supportive tissues in order to explain the coexistence of various local types in one person. In old age, the two most important elements to be considered are: 1) local degenerative changes due to damaging factors acting locally on the connective tissue, and 2) increased venous pressure.