The most distinguishing feature of Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet leader’s appearance was a large, deep red blemish on his almost bald forehead.
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What Gorbachev had was a birthmark that is called a ‘port wine stain’, a name that derives from the way it looks. It was easy to imagine the mark as being a bit of deep red or purple liquid spilt on the former leader’s head.
People who have the mark are usually born with it, most often on the face or arms. On more than six out of 10 occasions, port wine stains appear on the head or neck.
The stain is for life, even though it may sometimes become thicker, darken, or develop a bumpy or ridged texture as the person grows older.
A port wine stain is caused by an abnormal development of blood vessels, sometimes called a capillary malformation, due to a mutation early in the pregnancy when the baby is developing in the womb.
Port wine stains are not the same as a similar birthmark that is known as ‘strawberry hemangiomas’. This is a non-cancerous tumour that is formed under the skin due to the clumping of blood vessels, and appears as a somewhat raised, dark red patch.
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