Fournier's disease: necrotizing gangrene of the male genitalia.
Fournier's disease, a necrotizing subcutaneous infection involving the male genitalia, was first described by the French venereologist Jean Alfred Fournier in 1884. Its characteristic triad of abrupt onset in young, previously healthy males, rapid progression to gangrene, and absence of a discernable cause appear to have been altered, at least partially, by the advent of the antibiotic era. We present a case report, with discussion of the clinical and pathophysiological mechanisms involved in this rare and malignant infectious process.