Whitlow

Infection of the fingertip

Medical condition

Whitlow
Other names	Felon

An infection of the pulp space of the thumb
Specialty	Infectious diseases

A whitlow or felon is an infection of the tip of the finger.^[1]^[2]^[a] Herpetic whitlow and melanotic whitlow (subungual melanoma) are subtypes that are not synonymous with the term felon. A felon is an "extremely painful abscess on the palmar aspect of the fingertip".^[6] Whitlow usually refers to herpetic whitlow, though it can also refer to melanotic whitlow (subungual melanoma),^[7] which somewhat resembles acral lentiginous melanoma. The terms whitlow and felon are also sometimes misapplied to paronychia, which is an infection of the tissue at the side or base of the nail. Felon presents with a throbbing pain, clinically.

Notes

^ The term whitlow derives from the Scandinavian whickflaw, combining a variant of quick (a sensitive spot) and flaw.^[3]^[4] Felon comes from the Old French, derived from the Latin root fel-, literally meaning "bile" and referring to the toxic content of the abscess.^[5]

References

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Whitlow".

^ "whitlow" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
^ Fitzpatrick, Thomas B.; Klauss Wolff; Wolff, Klaus Dieter; Johnson, Richard R.; Suurmond, Dick; Richard Suurmond (2005). Fitzpatrick's color atlas and synopsis of clinical dermatology. McGraw-Hill Medical Pub. Division. ISBN 0-07-144019-4.
^ Walter William Skeat (1895). A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Harper & Bros. pp. 560–. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
^ ²flaw and ²quick from "Free Dictionary". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
^ Diab, Mohammad (1999). Lexicon of Orthopaedic Etymology. Taylor & Francis. p. 115. ISBN 978-90-5702-597-6. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
^ Dorland's Medical Dictionary: 29th Edition.
^ Haneke E, Baran R (June 2001). "Longitudinal melanonychia". Dermatol Surg. 27 (6): 580–4. doi:10.1111/j.1524-4725.2001.01916.x. PMID 11442597.

Diseases of the skin and appendages by morphology

Growths

Epidermal	Wart Callus Seborrheic keratosis Acrochordon Molluscum contagiosum Actinic keratosis Squamous-cell carcinoma Basal-cell carcinoma Merkel-cell carcinoma Nevus sebaceous Trichoepithelioma
Pigmented	Freckles Lentigo Melasma Nevus Melanoma
Dermal and subcutaneous	Epidermal inclusion cyst Hemangioma Dermatofibroma (benign fibrous histiocytoma) Keloid Lipoma Neurofibroma Xanthoma Kaposi's sarcoma Infantile digital fibromatosis Granular cell tumor Leiomyoma Lymphangioma circumscriptum Myxoid cyst

Rashes

With
epidermal
involvement

Eczematous	Contact dermatitis Atopic dermatitis Seborrheic dermatitis Stasis dermatitis Lichen simplex chronicus Darier's disease Glucagonoma syndrome Langerhans cell histiocytosis Lichen sclerosus Pemphigus foliaceus Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome Zinc deficiency
Scaling	Psoriasis Tinea (Corporis Cruris Pedis Manuum Faciei) Pityriasis rosea Secondary syphilis Mycosis fungoides Systemic lupus erythematosus Pityriasis rubra pilaris Parapsoriasis Ichthyosis
Blistering	Herpes simplex Herpes zoster Varicella Bullous impetigo Acute contact dermatitis Pemphigus vulgaris Bullous pemphigoid Dermatitis herpetiformis Porphyria cutanea tarda Epidermolysis bullosa simplex
Papular	Scabies Insect bite reactions Lichen planus Miliaria Keratosis pilaris Lichen spinulosus Transient acantholytic dermatosis Lichen nitidus Pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta
Pustular	Acne vulgaris Rosacea Folliculitis Impetigo Candidiasis Gonococcemia Dermatophyte Coccidioidomycosis Subcorneal pustular dermatosis
Hypopigmented	Tinea versicolor Vitiligo Pityriasis alba Postinflammatory hyperpigmentation Tuberous sclerosis Idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis Leprosy Hypopigmented mycosis fungoides

Without
epidermal
involvement

Red

Blanchable
Erythema

Generalized	Drug eruptions Viral exanthems Toxic erythema Systemic lupus erythematosus
Localized	Cellulitis Abscess Boil Erythema nodosum Carcinoid syndrome Fixed drug eruption
Specialized	Urticaria Erythema (Multiforme Migrans Gyratum repens Annulare centrifugum Ab igne)

Nonblanchable
Purpura

Macular	Thrombocytopenic purpura Actinic/solar purpura
Papular	Disseminated intravascular coagulation Vasculitis

Indurated

Miscellaneous
disorders

Ulcers
Hair	Telogen effluvium Androgenic alopecia Alopecia areata Systemic lupus erythematosus Tinea capitis Loose anagen syndrome Lichen planopilaris Folliculitis decalvans Acne keloidalis nuchae
Nail	Onychomycosis Psoriasis Paronychia Ingrown nail
Mucous membrane	Aphthous stomatitis Oral candidiasis Lichen planus Leukoplakia Pemphigus vulgaris Mucous membrane pemphigoid Cicatricial pemphigoid Herpesvirus Coxsackievirus Syphilis Systemic histoplasmosis Squamous-cell carcinoma

Bacterial skin disease

Gram +ve

Bacillota

Staphylococcus	Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome Impetigo Toxic shock syndrome
Streptococcus	Impetigo Cutaneous group B streptococcal infection Streptococcal intertrigo Cutaneous Streptococcus iniae infection Erysipelas / Chronic recurrent erysipelas Scarlet fever
Corynebacterium	Erythrasma
Clostridium	Gas gangrene Dermatitis gangrenosa
Others	Listeriosis Erysipeloid of Rosenbach Mycoplasma

Actinomycetota

Mycobacterium-
related

Aquarium granuloma
Borderline lepromatous leprosy
Borderline leprosy
Borderline tuberculoid leprosy
Buruli ulcer
Erythema induratum
Histoid leprosy
Lepromatous leprosy
Leprosy
Lichen scrofulosorum
Lupus vulgaris
Miliary tuberculosis
Mycobacterium avium–intracellulare complex infection
Mycobacterium haemophilum infection
Mycobacterium kansasii infection
Papulonecrotic tuberculid
Primary inoculation tuberculosis
Rapid growing mycobacterium infection
Scrofuloderma
Tuberculosis cutis orificialis
Tuberculosis verrucosa cutis
Tuberculous cellulitis
Tuberculous gumma
Tuberculoid leprosy

Others

Cutaneous actinomycosis
Nocardiosis
Cutaneous diphtheria infection
Arcanobacterium haemolyticum infection
Group JK corynebacterium sepsis

Gram -ve

Pseudomonadota

Alpha	Endemic typhus Epidemic typhus Scrub typhus North Asian tick typhus Queensland tick typhus Flying squirrel typhus Trench fever Bacillary angiomatosis African tick bite fever American tick bite fever Rickettsia aeschlimannii infection Rickettsialpox Rocky Mountain spotted fever Human granulocytotropic anaplasmosis Human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis Flea-borne spotted fever Japanese spotted fever Mediterranean spotted fever Flinders Island spotted fever Verruga peruana Brill–Zinsser disease Brucellosis Cat-scratch disease Oroya fever Ehrlichiosis ewingii infection
Beta	Gonococcemia/Gonorrhea/Primary gonococcal dermatitis Melioidosis Cutaneous Pasteurella hemolytica infection Meningococcemia Glanders Chromobacteriosis infection
Gamma	Pasteurellosis Tularemia Vibrio vulnificus Rhinoscleroma Haemophilus influenzae cellulitis Pseudomonal pyoderma / Pseudomonas hot-foot syndrome / Hot tub folliculitis / Ecthyma gangrenosum / Green nail syndrome Q fever Salmonellosis Shigellosis Plague Granuloma inguinale Chancroid Aeromonas infection