Umbilicated papules caused by a pox virus

What it is

Molluscum contagiosum is a benign viral infection of the skin, caused by a pox virus. Where the case asks what the cause is, that is the answer: a pox virus, written elsewhere as a poxvirus in one word.

Causes and risk

It is a common disease during childhood, but can also occur in adolescents and adults, and it is commonly seen in children, sexually active adults and immunosuppressed patients. It is spread by skin-skin contact, by fomite exposure and by autoinoculation.

How it presents

The lesions are small, skin colored to pink, umbilicated and dome shaped papules: multiple well demarcated papules of 1-4 mm with central umbilication. They can develop anywhere but are common over friction areas like folds and genitalia, and the sites named most often are the trunk, axilla, popliteal or antecubital fossae and crural folds.

Where the case asks for the lesion to be described, the answer given is multiple well demarcated 1-4mm sized, dome shaped papules with central umbilication, and flesh-colored is used elsewhere for the same skin colored to pink lesion. So the two words that carry the description are dome shaped and umbilicated, and the size is small, 1-4 mm.