Rare diseases · Sign or symptom

Tiger tail banding

HP:0045055

What it means

An abnormal appearance of hair under polarizing microscopy (using crossed polarizers), whereby hair shafts show striking alternating bright and dark bands, often referred to as tiger tail banding.

Rare diseases that can present with this1

Sometimes5–29%

1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Tiger-tail banding

Tiger tail banding

Tracking symptoms like this for someone? Eleplan keeps symptoms, diagnoses, medications and every specialist in one plan.

Start free with Eleplan

This page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.