Trivia Flashcards

Which Nobel Prize-winning discovery led to widespread use of UV radiation in dermatology?

Answer: Niels Finsen's phototherapy for lupus vulgaris

Niels Finsen won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Medicine for treating lupus vulgaris with concentrated UV light, founding phototherapy.

What is the approximate total surface area of the skin in an average adult human?

Answer: 1.5–2 square meters

The adult human skin covers approximately 1.5–2 square meters, making it the body's largest organ.

Which dermatological condition famously affected the 16th-century monarch King Henry VIII later in life, contributing to his characteristic appearance?

Answer: Syphilitic gummas and leg ulcers

Henry VIII likely suffered from syphilitic gummas and chronic leg ulcers, consistent with historical accounts of painful, draining wounds.

The Fitzpatrick scale, developed in 1975, classifies human skin into how many phototypes?

Answer: Six

Thomas Fitzpatrick developed a six-type scale (I–VI) to classify skin response to UV radiation based on pigmentation and burn/tan tendency.

Which pigment gives sebaceous gland secretions their characteristic color and contributes to the yellow tint in aged skin?

Answer: Carotenoids

Dietary carotenoids accumulate in sebaceous secretions and subcutaneous fat, contributing to the yellowish tint seen in the skin.

What historical skin treatment, involving wrapping patients in cloth soaked in coal tar, was standard therapy for psoriasis before modern biologics?

Answer: Goeckerman regimen

The Goeckerman regimen combined crude coal tar application with UV light exposure and was a mainstay psoriasis treatment for decades.

Which skin condition, historically called 'the great imitator,' can mimic virtually any dermatological disease in its secondary stage?

Answer: Secondary syphilis

Secondary syphilis produces a wide variety of skin manifestations—maculopapular rashes, condylomata lata, alopecia—earning syphilis the nickname 'the great imitator.'