AGuidebook on Histological Diagnosis of Inflammatory Skin Diseases

This slim and unpretentious volume could equally well have been entitled "Aids to Histological Diagnosis of Inflammatory Skin Diseases". It seeks to do no more than point up the most characteristic features of common inflammatory skin diseases, and provide an additional element of clinicopathological correlates. The three authors are well qualified for the task, and the final product is nicely balanced. The book is divided into 4 sections, the first dealing with healthy skin, biopsy methodology and an outline of laboratory methods with a useful glossaly of terms. As a follower of the European school of histopathology, I might take issue with the authors advice that "a 3mm punch biopsy is adequate for the diagnosis of most skin diseases". An elliptical scalpel biopsy is well worth the extra effort in terms of preservation of skin architecture and a less visible scar. A more detailed consideration of widely used monoclonal antibodies and their significance would also help to dispel the mystique shrouding reports on immunocytochemistry of mononuclear cell infiltrates.