Abstract: Clinical data of 78 patients with nodular panniculitis confirmed by histopathology are reported in this article. The patients were mostly young and middle aged women. The disease was classified into two types:cutaneous type and systemic type. Main symptoms were fever (70.5%), joint pain (66.67%), subcutaneous infiltrated nodules or plaques with pain and tenderness (100%). Patients with systemic type were all associated with respiratoty, circulatory, digestive system involvment and positive laboratory examinations. The nomenclature, etiology, early diagnosis, and differential diagnosis with easily misdiagnosed diseases were discussed. It is our opinion that young and middle aged female patients suffering from fever with unknown cause, migrating joint pain, subcutaneous nodules or plaques with pain and tenderness should be highly suspected of panniculitis, and biopsies be taken early for histopathologic examination.

Key words: Panniculitis, nodular nonsuppurative