Approach to the Diagnosis of Skin Disease

Abstract

The diagnosis of skin disease is not something that changes radically year to year. In fact, for hundreds of years physicians have been assessing the skin to diagnose and treat skin diseases and to “view” internal diseases. The latest edition of this review provides several updates that enhance our approach to the diagnosis of skin disease with active links to updated digital references and atlases. These will be valuable to students, residents, and physicians interested in improving their dermatologic diagnostic skills. A new algorithm highlights our suggested approach to cutaneous diagnoses. It is our hope that readers will begin to “think like dermatologists” as they digest the contents of this review. Key words: Macule, papule, vesicle, bulla, plaque, excoriation, scale, ulceration, diagnosis, errors This review contains 13 figures, 5 tables, 17 references, and 7 additional readings.