[Lichen ruber exanthematicus et pigmentosus in mercury poisoning. A contribution to individual pathology in occupational medicine].

We report on a 21-year-old man professionally exposed to mercury, who developed lichen planus. This case must be regarded as a dispositional reaction and is in Germany entitled to indemnification in terms of a "quasi-occupational disease". The clinical signs and the probably non-allergic pathomechanism are comparable with those of lichen planus induced by gold. In diseases due to occupational intoxication, we face an individual disposition regarding the degree of clinical symptoms, which has to underly any expert opinion on indemnity.