Christmas Tree Pattern


Dermatology A finding in pityriasis rosea; the lesions are oval, 1-cm pink-brown papules, covered by fine keratinaceous scales, which correspond to parakeratosis, and aligned parallel to the skin cleavage lines of the trunk; lesions fade after 2-12 wks
Molecular biology Feathering pattern A descriptor for the ultrastructural pattern—seen by the technique of rotary shadowing after gene activation by DNA polymerase—when multiple pre-rRNAs simultaneously initiate transcription on a single DNA molecule. Each of the feather’s ‘branches’ corresponds to chains of nascent rRNA which are progressively shorter towards the initiation site