Dermoscopy saga – A tale of 5 centuries

Abstract

The origin of dermoscopy can be traced back to the middle of the modern age and Borel's discovery (1655 – 1656) laid the foundation stone with important contributions from Ernst Karl Abbe, Unna, Muller, Saphier and others. However, the work done by Dr. Ronald Mackie (1971) for the early detection of melanoma marks the peak. The entire journey of evolution was eventful. This article is a brief overview on the history of dermoscopy and the contribution of various scientists leading to emergence of dermoscopy as an independent, dynamic field today.

Historia de la dermatoscopia. Un viaje a través del tiempo

“…Borel estableció los principios para la capilaroscopia tal como la conocemos hoy. En 1663, Cristophorus Kolhaus reprodujo los hallazgos de Borel y continuó su trabajo, lo que contribuyó a la mayor relevancia y expansión de la técnica 1,2 .…”

“…En 1878, Ernst Karl Abbe (1840-1905), físico, estadístico y óptico alemán que junto con Carl Zeiss y Otto Schott sentaron las bases de la óptica moderna, desarrolló numerosos instrumentos ópticos. Sustituyó el agua por aceite de cedro para aumentar la resolución de los microscopios, obteniendo así imágenes más claras y de mayor aumento 2 .…”

How old is too old to work for physicians?

“…As the first hand-held dermoscope and its standardized terminology were only developed in 1989 [14], it would not have been a part of the formal specialty training for a dermatologist over 60 years old; as such, this knowledge would have to be acquired outside formal education.…”

“…There is also the problem posed by remoteness of education and its obsolescence; such issues can be observed in Dermatology with the rapid changes in diagnostic and treatment methods, such as dermoscopy. As the first hand-held dermoscope and its standardized terminology were only developed in 1989 [ 14 ], it would not have been a part of the formal specialty training for a dermatologist over 60 years old; as such, this knowledge would have to be acquired outside formal education.…”

Dermoscopy for Nurse Practitioners

“…T he birth of dermoscopy dates to 1655, far before the emergence of dermatology as a science (Buch & Criton, 2021;Khopkar, 2020). Initially used for inspection of nail bed capillaries, the contributions of scientists over centuries have led to the evolution of dermoscopy as an independent, dynamic field of study (Buch & Criton, 2021). Today, dermoscopy is known as a practical, noninvasive, diagnostic technique used to assess the skin in detail.…”