Secondary Syphilis in a 20-Year-Old Woman

Photo courtesy of Jonathan S. Crane, DO,
Mary Lou Courreg, MD, and David Ohashi, MD

A young woman complained of multiple nonpruritic lesions on her forearms and hands; the lesions had appeared suddenly, 2 weeks earlier. Examination revealed these erythematous annular macules and papules. A biopsy specimen showed scattered plasma cells, hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis, and aggregates of mononuclear cells in the papillary dermis.

What diagnosis do these findings favor?

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