What is ichthyosis foetalis?
The term ichthyosis3 refers to the spectrum of congenital, hereditary skin diseases manifested as roughening and thickening of the horny layer of the skin (known as hyperkeratosis), producing dryness and scaling. Of these, ichthyosis foetalis (also known as harlequin ichthyosis, ichthyosis congenital and keratosis diffusa foetalis) is the most severe. The term by which most laypeople know it, harlequin foetus, is coined from the skin deformation which causes the foetus’s mouth to be pulled open in grotesque mimicry of a clown’s smile, and by the triangular and diamond-shaped pattern of the hyperkeratosis reminiscent of the costumes and make-up of 17th Century harlequins. History The first mention of this disease is in the diary of one Reverend Oliver Hart of Charleston, South Carolina who, in 1750 wrote:On Thursday, April ye 5, 1750, I went to see a most deplorable object of a child, born the night before of one Mary Evans in ‘Chas’town. It was surprising to all who beheld it, and I sc
