Zosteriform lesions, occurring after left flank and intravaginal inoculations of Balb/c mice with the Herpes simplex virus type 1 strain McKrae, developed in clinically normal skin via nerve endings. The developments of zosteriforms were standardized in 5 phases with the following references; formation of small vesicles (phase 1); occurrence of erosion and ulceration of local lesions (phase 2); occurrence of ulcerations (phase 3); occurrence of severe ulcerations (phase 4); and death (phase 5). These results provide two valuable zosteriform models to further investigate and analyze the pathological symptoms in susceptible animals infected with HSV-1 or HSV-2 and DNA vaccines.