title: The histologic diagnosis of melanoma.
abstract: The pathologic diagnosis of melanoma is of crucial importance because it provides the patient and his or her attending physician with the knowledge of a potentially life-threatening or an almost curable condition. The histopathologic diagnosis of melanoma is based on the simultaneous or systematic assessment of several well-known histopathologic features. This article discusses the author's approach to the histopathologic diagnosis of melanoma for specific situations.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Dermatology and Pathology, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Barnhill
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003581:Cytodiagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008545:Melanoma / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000473:pathology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D009626:Terminology as Topic