Dermatology & Cosmetology

Dermatopathology

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Dermatopathology is a joint subspecialty of dermatology and pathology and to a lesser extent of surgical pathology that focuses on the study of cutaneous diseases at a microscopic and molecular level. Dermatopathologists work in close association with clinical dermatologists. More than 1500 different disorders of the skin exist, including cutaneous eruptions "rashes" and neoplasms or dermatological oncology deals with pre-cancers, such as an actinic keratosis and cancers, including both benign masses, and malignant cancers- such as basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and most dangerously malignant melanoma. Non-cancerous conditions include vitiligo, impetigo, purpura, pruritus, spider veins, warts, moles, oral or genital herpes, chancre sores of syphilis, exposure to poison ivy and similar plants or other venom sources, rashes, cysts, abscesses, corns, and dermabrasions or cases dealing with wrinkles, peeling skin, or autoimmune attacks on the skin. Therefore dermatopathologists must maintain a broad base of knowledge in clinical dermatology, and be familiar with several other specialty areas in Medicine. In some cases, additional specialized testing needs to be performed on biopsies, including immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and molecular-pathologic analysis.