“…Secondary syphilis has been termed the “great masquerader”, because its skin lesions show such diverse clinical and/or histologic morphologies, mimicking alopecia areata (130), bullous pemphigoid (131), cutaneous lymphoid hyperplasia (pseudolymphoma) (132–135), erythema multiforme (126, 136), granuloma annulare (43, 128, 137, 138), histiocytoma (34), leprosy (128, 139, 140), lichen planus (34, 126, 135, 141, 142), lupus erythematosus (43, 128, 143), mycosis fungoides (126, 144–146), pemphigus vulgaris (147), pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta (PLEVA) (34, 126, 135), pruritic (eczematous) dermatoses (126, 128, 148), psoriasis (34, 128, 149, 150), pustular psoriasis (34, 128), sarcoidosis (34, 135, 151–155), small vessel vasculitis (156), suppurative folliculitis (157), superficial thrombophlebitis (158), Sweet’s syndrome (128, 159), tinea imbricata and erythema annulare centrifugum (34, 160), and urticaria (104). Ulcerative nodular presentations are rare and can occur secondary to follicular pustules (157, 161), or an obliterative endarteritis, known as lues maligna (162, 163). Lues maligna appears to be more common when HIV co-infection is present (162–166).…”