Tick infestation simulating a traumatized, papillomatous nevus.

A patient is described who had a five-week history of agonizing pain in a "mole" on his left inner thigh that clinically was thought to be a traumatized, papillomatous nevus. Biopsy disclosed the presence of the body parts of a hard tick. Much has been written about ticks as agents or vectors of disease. This case demonstrates the less well-described ability of a blood-engorged tick to clinically simulate a traumatized or infarcting skin growth, and it represents the second reported case of the development and persistence of a tick bite nodule following complete surgical removal of all tick parts.