Cutaneous small-vessel vasculitis
hypersensitivity vasculitis that results in inflammation of small blood vessels, characterized clinically by palpable purpura, which is a slightly elevated purpuric rash over one or more areas of the skin
Cutaneous small-vessel vasculitis (CSVV) is inflammation of small blood vessels, usually accompanied by small lumps beneath the skin. The condition is also known as hypersensitivity vasculitis, cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis, hypersensitivity angiitis, cutaneous leukocytoclastic angiitis, cutaneous necrotizing vasculitis and cutaneous necrotizing venulitis,
It is the most common form of vasculitis seen in clinical practice, usually caused by inflammation of post-capillary venules in the dermis).
"Leukocytoclastic" (literally meaning 'leukocyte-destroying') refers to the damage caused by nuclear debris from infiltrating neutrophils in and around the vessels.
Signs and symptoms
Skin lesions
Initially red to pink, flat spots (formally, "macules") and raised bumps (formally, "papules") may be seen on the skin.
Once fully developed, the classic appearance is "non-blanching, palpable purpura". This appears as deep red to purple spots that feel raised to the touch. Purpura refers to the red-purple discolored spots, while palpable implies that these spots can be felt as raised from the surrounding skin. Additionally, when gently pressed, the color does not fade to a lighter color ("non-blanching"). The red-purple color of the lesions is due to the inflammation in the blood vessels, causing red blood cells to escape into the dermis skin layer.
Small fluid-filled blisters (or "vesicles"), pus-filled bumps resembling a pimple (or "pustules"), or shallow ulcers may also develop but are less common.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Cutaneous small-vessel vasculitis” as hypersensitivity vasculitis that results in inflammation of small blood vessels, characterized clinically by palpable purpura, which is a slightly elevated purpuric rash over one or more areas of the skin. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as hypersensitivity vasculitis that results in inflammation of small blood vessels, characterized clinically by palpable purpura, which is a slightly elevated purpuric rash over one or more areas of the skin. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1613670. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cutaneous small-vessel vasculitis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.