Granuloma

What is a granuloma?

Granulomas are diagnosed when histopathology of a skin biopsy shows a granulomatous tissue pattern.

What skin conditions are granulomatous?

Granulomas may be found in the following skin conditions:

• Abnormal wound healing - CME
• Acitretin
• Acne agminata
• Actinic granuloma
• Acupuncture and its role in treating skin disease
• Allergic granulomatosis
• Atypical mycobacterial infection
• Atypical mycobacterial infection images
• Body piercing
• Chronic granulomatous disease
• Common variable immunodeficiency
• Crohn skin disease
• Cronkhite–Canada syndrome
• Cutaneous infections - CME
• Cutaneous markers of internal malignancy
• Cutaneous medicine - CME 
• Darier-Roussy subcutaneous sarcoidosis
• Deep skin disorders
• Dental sinus
• Dermal subcutaneous tumours - CME
• Dermoscopy of other non-melanocytic lesions - CME
• Eosinophilic granuloma
• Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis
• Eosinophilic ulcer of the oral mucosa
• Epulis
• Erythema annulare centrifugum
• Genital Crohn disease
• Granuloma annulare
• Granuloma annulare images
• Granuloma faciale
• Granuloma inguinale
• Granulomatosis with polyangiitis
• Granulomatous cheilitis
• Granulomatous dermatitis
• Granulomatous vasculitis
• Histoplasmosis
• Infective panniculitis
• Inflammatory dermatoses - CME
• Intralesional steroid injection
• Juvenile systemic granulomatosis
• Juvenile xanthogranuloma
• Koebner phenomenon
• Langerhans cell histiocytosis
• Leprosy
• Lymphogranuloma venereum
• Lymphomatoid granulomatosis 
• Majocchi granuloma
• Mycobacteria - CME
• Nail terminology
• Necrobiosis lipoidica
• Oral contraceptives and the skin
• Orofacial Crohn disease
• Orofacial granulomatosis
• Panniculitis
• Periorificial dermatitis
• Pulsed dye laser treatment
• Pyogenic granuloma
• Recurrent fissuring of posterior fourchette
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Riga-Fede disease
• Sarcoidosis
• Skin problems from stomas
• Skin problems in pregnancy
• Sporotrichosis
• Subungual exostosis
• Surgical procedures - CME
• Systemic mycoses
• Tattoo-associated skin reactions
• Terminology
• Tick bites
• Tuberculosis
• Vascular skin disorders: image catalogue

Histopathology of granulomas

A granuloma is a chronic inflammatory pattern characterised by the localised aggregation of histiocytes with or without other inflammatory cells (eg plasma cells, eosinophils, neutrophils), with or without necrosis, with or without vasculitis, with or without calcification, with or without foreign bodies. They may be due to infection or chronic inflammatory disease or reactions to foreign material.  

The dermatopathological features of various granulomatous disorders are described on the following pages:

• Actinic granuloma pathology
• Annular elastolytic giant cell granuloma pathology
• Bacillary angiomatosis pathology
• Cherry angioma pathology
• Cutaneous tuberculosis pathology 
• Erythema elevatum diutinum pathology 
• Erythema nodosum pathology
• Granuloma annulare pathology
• Interstitial granulomatous dermatitis pathology
• Leishmaniasis pathology 
• Leprosy pathology
• Lichen nitidus pathology
• Lupus miliaris disseminatus faciei pathology
• Malassezia folliculitis pathology
• Metastatic Crohn disease pathology 
• Mycobacterium marinum skin infection pathology
• Necrobiotic xanthogranuloma pathology
• Orofacial granulomatosis pathology
• Rheumatoid nodule pathology
• Sarcoidosis pathology
• Syphilis pathology