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ANGELA E. LIN, MD; MURRAY FEINGOLD, MD
National Birth Defects Center 30 Warren St Brighton, MA 02135

BENJAMIN SIEGEL, MD
Department of Pediatrics Boston City Hospital 818 Harrison Ave Boston, MA 02118

Am J Dis Child. 1993;147(7):714.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Sir.—Although "mongolism" and "mongoloid" slant of the eyes have been replaced by the more accurate terms Down syndrome and upslantingpalpebral fissures, the term mongolianspot persists in common pediatric usage.^1-7 This benign, blue-gray macule occurs frequently in infants of Asian, Mediterranean, and African heritage.

Anthropologic theories have attempted to explain the origin of this spot, suggesting that it was derived from the racial admixture resulting from the Mongolian invasion of Europe.⁸ It had been noted that the spot was more common in "Mongolian" nonwhite races, hence the appellation. However, not all Asian people are derived from Mongolian tribes and, conversely, not all Mongolians are Asian. Pediatric textbooks have commented that the term mongolian spot is "... an unfortunate name for such a common benign skin discoloration,"⁵ and this lesion has "... no known anthropological significance."⁷

We suggest that mongolian spot be replaced with blue-gray macule of . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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