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7413466 
Journal Article 
Urticaria, Angioedema and Anaphylaxis 
Braun-Falco, O; Plewig, G; Wolff, HH; Burgdorf, WHC; , 
2000 
Springer Berlin Heidelberg 
Berlin, Heidelberg 
Dermatology 
431-456 
In English, “urticaria” refers to both a lesion and a disease. In Latin, things are clearer. The lesion, urtica or hive, is an erythematous, usually pruritic papule or plaque that appears and disappears over relatively short periods of times. The disorder, urticaria, features many hives; there are many different causes of urticaria and a wide variety of subtypes. The German name Nesselfieber refers to the typical skin reaction following contact with the stinging nettie (Urtica dioica), a common plant. While one distinguishes between acute and chronic urticaria, the individual lesions are almost always short-lived. Patients with chronic urticaria develop new lesions over many weeks, months or even years.