Skin ulcers in a patient afflicted with microscopic polyangiitis

Systemic vasculitis is a group of heterogeneous diseases characterized by inflammation and blood vessel walls necrosis. Usually the skin is one of the first organs involved, especially with damage of small to medium size vessels. The cutaneous patterns may help clinicians to diagnose these diseases at the beginning of their course, preventing complications due to internal organ involvement. The following case presents a patient with a microscopic polyangiitis that started with several skin ulcerations localized on the inferior limbs.