a condition, usually occurring in women, in which the individual bruises easily (purpura simplex) and the ecchymoses tend to enlarge and involve adjacent tissues, resulting in pain in the affected parts; so-called because similar lesions are produced by inoculation of the individual’s blood or various components of red blood cells and it is thought to be a form of localized autosensitization, although no specific antibodies have been demonstrable; in some individuals, there seems to be a psychogenic mechanism. Syn: Gardner-Diamond syndrome, psychogenic purpura.