Piebaldism: rare but all dermatologists have heard this strange term during residency

• For one, this term is not originally from Latin and Greek, but from English and French:
  • “Pie-” (french) = magpie (a bird)
    • The french word has been adopted in the English.
  • “-bald” comes from English (lack of hair)
  • pie-bald = varriagated and partly coloured like a magpie. This term is also used to describe white and black horses

• Medical significance of piebaldism – partial albinism
• It is a rare disorder of melanocyte development which is inherited in an autosomal dominant way.

• Clinically one finds:
  • a triangular shaped depigmented patch on the forehead
  • a congenital white forelock

• Indira Gandhi, a former Indian prime minister is a known case of piebaldism

Contributors

Dr Christophe Hsu – dermatologist. Geneva, Switzerland

Source of information: Harms M. Dermatologica Helvetica (The Swiss Journal of Dermatology and Venereology: www.dermatologicahelvetica.com