McKee's Pathology of the Skin

Melanoma

Melanoma Clinical features Over the last several decades, the conspicuous increasing incidence of this malignant neoplasm has made this disease more prominent, linked to some rise in morbidity and mortality. While roughly half of the major cancers in the United…

Melanocytic nevi

Ephelide Clinical features Ephelides (freckles) are extremely common lesions that present as clusters of small (approximately 2.0 mm in diameter), uniformly pigmented macules ( Fig. 25.1 ). They are directly related to exposure to sunlight and are much more conspicuous in…

Tumors of the surface epithelium

Epidermal nevi Clinical features Epidermal nevi are of the following three subtypes, which are histologically identical and differ only in the degree of clinical involvement: nevus verrucosus, nevus unius lateris, ichthyosis hystrix (this has no relationship to ichthyosis). Lesions, which…

Diseases of the nails

Introduction Nail histopathology requires a sound knowledge of the anatomy of the nail apparatus and excellent clinical-pathological correlation. The first major challenge for the nail histopathologist is to obtain interpretable biopsies, i.e., specimens that are correctly sampled by the nail…

Diseases of the hair

Introduction A distinctive phenomenon of the human evolutionary process is the loss of a great proportion of the body hair. Vestiges of hair remain in areas such as the scalp, axillae, genital areas, and face. Among the many species of…

Diseases of collagen and elastic tissue

Introduction Improved and detailed understanding of the molecular basis of many of the diseases in this chapter continues to progress. While Ehlers-Danlos has been well understood for many years, our understanding has further expanded and a new classification scheme systematizes…

Disorders of pigmentation

Disorders of Hypopigmentation Vitiligo Clinical features Vitiligo is a common acquired disease of unknown etiology characterized by loss of melanocytes resulting in macular areas of leukoderma that progressively enlarge and often become confluent. The incidence has been calculated as between…

Infectious diseases of the skin

Viral Infections Common wart The common wart (verruca vulgaris) is caused by infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) ( Fig. 18.1 ). HPV is a DNA virus of the papovavirus family. The number of known HPV genotypes currently stands at more…

Idiopathic connective tissue disorders

Lupus erythematosus Lupus erythematosus is a complex disorder associated with numerous clinical signs and symptoms and a wide range of laboratory abnormalities. It shows a spectrum of varying prognoses, ranging from a benign, solely cutaneous variant (localized discoid) through to…