title: Naming acquired melanocytic nevi. Common and dysplastic, normal and atypical, or Unna, Miescher, Spitz, and Clark?
abstract: Acquired melanocytic nevi are among the commonest neoplasms in man, yet classification of them has proven elusive and elucidation unsatisfactory. From "active junctional nevus" to "dysplastic nevus," the brains of clinicians and histopathologists have been boggled and the psyches and skin of patients have been served badly. This essay advocates eponymic designations for acquired melanocytic nevi, all of which are common, as the surest route to comprehensive classification of them.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Unit, New York University Medical Center, New York 10016.
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Ackerman
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Milde
mesh_terms: D004416:Dysplastic Nevus Syndrome / Q000473:pathology; D004850:Eponyms; D006801:Humans; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000473:pathology*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D009626:Terminology as Topic