It was initially described in the early 20th century as soft yellowish plaques found on the mucosa of the urinary bladder.

Therefore, the partially digested bacteria accumulate in macrophages leading to deposition of iron and calcium.

The impairment of bactericidal activity manifests itself as the formation of an ulcer, plaque or papule.

Malakoplakia is associated with patients with a history of immunosuppression due to lymphoma, diabetes mellitus, kidney transplantation, or because of long-term therapy with systemic corticosteroids.

[3][4] Leonor Michaelis and Carl Gutmann first described malakoplakia in 1902 after analyzing a patient's tumor at the request of David Paul von Hansemann.