Lichen planus is an itchy, violaceous, flat-topped papule highlighted by white dots or lines called Wickham's striae.
 - lichen planus may occur in the oral mucosa, where it has a fine white net-like appearance.
 - increased epidermal proliferation; ? immunologic; initiated by epidermal injury from drugs, viruses, or topical agents.
 - characteristic histologic features include:
 - hyperkeratosis
 - absence of parakeratosis
 - prominent stratum granulosum
 - an irregular "saw toothed" accentuation of the rete pegs. 

 - dermal-epidermal junction obscured by a band-like infiltrate of lymphocytes.
 - It is generally self-limiting and resolves spontaneously 1 to 2 years after onset; however, the oral lesions may persist for years.

Chemical Mediators In Inflammation

Can be classified as :

A. Neurogenic

Also called the Triple Response of Lewis. It involves neurogenic vasodilatation of arterioles due to antidromic axon reflex arc. The constituents of the response are:

1. arteriolar vasoconstriction followed by

2. arteriolar vasodilatation

3. swelling

B. Chemical

1. Amines: Histamine and 5 hydroxytryptamine. Released  from platelets and mast cells.

Actions: Immediate and short lived.

Dilatation of arterioles.

Increased capillary premeability.

Kinins: Bradykinin and kallidin These are present in inactive from and are  activated by kinin forming proteases

Actions:

Arteriolar dilatation.

Increased vascular permeability

Pain

Kinin forming proteases Plasmin and Kallikrein. Present as inactive precursors.

Cleavage products of complement C₃a und C₅a are called anaphylatoxins

Actions:

Histamine release from mast cells

Chemotaxis (also C₅₆₇ )

Enhance phagocytosis.

 Polymorph components

Cationic: proteins which cause

Increased permeability

Histamine release.

Chemotaxis of monocytes

Neutral proteases which:

Cleave C3 and C5 to active form

Convert Kininogen to Kinin

Increase permeability.

Acid proteases which liberate leucokinins

Slow reacting. substance of anaphylaxis: (SRS-A) is a lipid released from mast cell.

Action --Increases vascular permeability

Prostaglandins: E1 + E2 _.

Platelets are rich source

Action:

Platelets are a rich source.

Vasodilatation.

Increased permeability.

Pain.

VIII. Miscellaneous: like

Tissue lactic acid.

 Bacterial toxins.

Herpes zoster, or shingles
 - represents reactivation of a latent varicella-zoster infection.
 - virus lies dormant in sensory dorsal root ganglia and when activated involves the distribution (dermatome) of the sensory nerve with a painful vesicular eruption.
 - trigeminal verve distribution → Ramsay Hunt syndrome
 - may indicate the presence of advanced neoplastic disease or be a complication of chemotherapy.

Hyperthyroidism 

Hyperthyroidism (Thyrotoxicosis) is a hypermetabolic state caused by elevated circulating levels of free T3 and T4 . This may primary (Graves disease) or rarely, secondary (due to pituitary or hypothalamic diseases).

- The diagnosis is based on clinical features and laboratory data. 

Lab Test

- The measurement of serum TSH concentration provides the most useful single screening test for hyperthyroidism, because TSH levels are decreased in primary cases, even when the disease is still be subclinical. 
- In secondary cases TSH levels are either normal or raised. 
- A low TSH value is usually associated with increased levels of free T4 . 
- Occasionally, hyperthyroidism results from increased levels of T3 .

Pulmonary edema

Pulmonary edema is swelling and/or fluid accumulation in the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause respiratory failure.

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of pulmonary edema include difficulty breathing, coughing up blood, excessive sweating, anxiety and pale skin. If left untreated, it can lead to death, generally due to its main complication of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Diagnosis

physical examination: end-inspiratory crackles during auscultation (listening to the breathing through a stethoscope) can be due to pulmonary edema. The diagnosis is confirmed on X-ray of the lungs, which shows increased vascular filling and fluid in the alveolar walls.

Low oxygen saturation and disturbed arterial blood gas readings may strengthen the diagnosis

Causes

Cardiogenic causes:

1. Heart failure
2. Tachy- or bradyarrhythmias
3. Severe heart attack
4. Hypertensive crisis
5. Excess body fluids, e.g. from kidney failure
6. Pericardial effusion with tamponade

Non-cardiogenic causes, or ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome):

1. Inhalation of toxic gases
2. Multiple blood transfusions
3. Severe infection
4. Pulmonary contusion, i.e. high-energy trauma
5. Multitrauma, i.e. severe car accident
6. Neurogenic, i.e. cerebrovascular accident (CVA)
7. Aspiration, i.e. gastric fluid or in case of drowning
8. Certain types of medication
9. Upper airway obstruction
10. Reexpansion, i.e. postpneumonectomy or large volume thoracentesis
11. Reperfusion injury, i.e. postpulmonary thromboendartectomy or lung transplantation
12. Lack of proper altitude acclimatization.

Treatment

When circulatory causes have led to pulmonary edema, treatment with loop diuretics, such as furosemide or bumetanide, is the mainstay of therapy. Secondly, one can start with noninvasive ventilation. Other useful treatments include glyceryl trinitrate, CPAP and oxygen.

Cardiac arrhythmia

Cardiac arrhythmia is a group of conditions in which muscle contraction of the heart is irregular for any reason.

Tachycardia :A rhythm of the heart at a rate of more than 100 beats/minute , palpitation present
Causes : stress, caffeine, alcohol, hyperthyroidism or drugs

Bradycardia : slow rhythm of the heart at a rate less than 60 beats/min 

Atrial Arrhythmias 

- Atrial fibrillation

Atrial Dysrhythmias 

- Premature atrial contraction
- Atrial flutter
- Supraventricular tachycardia
- Sick sinus syndrome

Ventricular Arrhythmias 

- Ventricular fibrillation

Ventricular Dysrhythmias 

- Premature ventricular contraction
- Pulseless electrical activity
- Ventricular tachycardia
- Asystole

Heart Blocks 

- First degree heart block
- Second degree heart block 
o    Type 1 Second degree heart block a.k.a. Mobitz I or Wenckebach
o    Type 2 Second degree heart block a.k.a. Mobitz II
- Third degree heart block a.k.a. complete heart block

Atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation  is a cardiac arrhythmia (an abnormality of heart rate or rhythm) originating in the atria.
AF is the most common cardiac arrhythmia

Signs and symptoms

Rapid and irregular heart rates
palpitations, exercise intolerance, and occasionally produce angina and congestive symptoms of shortness of breath or edema
Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is the episodic occurence of the arrhythmia  Episodes may occur with sleep or with exercise

Diagnosis: 

Electrocardiogram
- absence of P waves
- unorganized electrical activity in their place
- irregularity of R-R interval due to irregular conduction of impulses to the ventricles

Causes:

- Arterial hypertension
- Mitral valve disease (e.g. due to rheumatic heart disease or mitral valve prolapse)
- Heart surgery
- Coronary heart disease
- Excessive alcohol consumption ("binge drinking" or "holiday heart")
- Hyperthyroidism
- Hyperstimulation of the vagus nerve, usually by having large meals

Treatment

Rate control by 
Beta blockers (e.g. metoprolol)
Digoxin
Calcium channel blockers (e.g. verapamil)

Rhythm control

Electrical cardioverion by application of a DC electrical shock
Chemical cardioversion is performed with drugs eg amiodarone

Radiofrequency ablation : uses radiofrequency energy to destroy abnormal electrical pathways in heart tissue It is used in recurrent AF

In confirmed AF, anticoagulant treatment is a crucial way to prevent stroke

Atrial flutter

Atrial flutter is a regular, rhythmic tachycardia originating in the atria. The rate in the atria is over 220 beats/minute, and typically about 300 beats/minute

he morphology on the surface EKG is typically a sawtooth pattern.

The ventricles do not beat as fast as the atria in atrial flutter

Supraventricular tachycardia

apid rhythm of the heart in which the origin of the electrical signal is either the atria or the AV node
it is important to determine whether a wide-complex tachycardia is an SVT or a ventricular tachycardia, since they are treated differently

Sick sinus syndrome : a group of abnormal heartbeats (arrhythmias) presumably caused by a malfunction of the sinus node, the heart's "natural" pacemaker.

Ventricular fibrillation

is a cardiac condition which consists of a lack of coordination of the contraction of the muscle tissue of the large chambers of the heart. The ventricular muscle twitches randomly, rather than contracting in unison, and so the ventricles fail to pump blood into the arteries and into systemic circulation.

Ventricular fibrillation is a medical emergency: if the arrhythmia continues for more than a few seconds, blood circulation will cease, as evidenced by lack of pulse, blood pressure and respiration, and death will occur. Ventricular fibrillation is a cause of cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death