ABSTRACT
Systemic sclerosis is a chronic disorder of connective tissue characterized by inflammation and fibrosis of, and degenerative changes in, the blood vessels, skin, synovium, skeletal muscle, and certain internal organs, especially the gastrointestinal tract, lung, heart and kidney. 1 Although there is an early and often clinically unappreciated inflammatory component, the hallmark of the disease is skin thickening (scleroderma) caused by excessive accumulation of connective tissue. Subintimal proliferative vascular changes are prominent and lead to Raynaud’s phenomenon and obliterative arteriolar and capillary lesions.
