inflammation of the fascia. There are three major types: 1, Eosinophilic fasciitis, an inflammatory reaction with eosinophilia, producing hard thickened skin with an orange-peel configuration suggestive of scleroderma and considered by some a variant of scleroderma; 2, Necrotizing fasciitis (fasciitis, necrotizing), a serious fulminating infection (usually by a beta hemolytic streptococcus) causing extensive necrosis of superficial fascia; 3, Nodular/Pseudosarcomatous /Proliferative fasciitis, characterized by a rapid growth of fibroblasts with mononuclear inflammatory cells and proliferating capillaries in soft tissue, often the forearm; it is not malignant but is sometimes mistaken for fibrosarcoma.