Status of individual animals is often shown in pigmentation. For instance, stress responsiveness is associated with melanin-based pigmentation in vertebrates in general. This pattern is evident in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss) with melanin-based spots indicating stress coping style. Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) differ from other salmonids in pigment...

Acral skin is the most prevalent site of malignant melanoma in non-Caucasian populations. On acral skin, other various kinds of pigmented lesions are also detected. Particularly, melanocytic nevus is commonly seen on acral volar skin; approximately 10% of Japanese have a nevus on their soles. Prognosis of acral melanoma is still generally poor because of delayed detection in the advanced stages...

Pigmentation is one of the most striking examples diversity in natural world. Specifically, primate pelage (hair/fur) pigmentation provides a substrate for selection, and tied to functions such as crypsis, signaling, thermoregulation. However, our hypotheses on forces responsible are based solely macro-evolutionary studies. Here, we test how distinct around climate, age, sex might be influencin...

Four types of facial pigmented skin lesions (FPSLs) constitute diagnostic challenge to dermatologists; early seborrheic keratosis (SK), pigmented actinic keratosis (AK), lentigo maligna (LM), and solar lentigo (SL). A retrospective analysis of dermoscopic images of histopathologically diagnosed clinically-challenging 64 flat FPSLs was conducted to establish the dermoscopic findings correspondin...

Wing pigmentation in Calopteryx damselflies, caused by the deposition of melanin, is energetically expensive to produce and enhances predation risk. However, patterns of melanisation are used in species identification, greater pigmentation is an accurate signal of male immune function in at least some species, and there may be a role for pigment in thermoregulation. This study tested two potent...

Nevus of Ota is a condition wherein the typical pattern of the bluish black pigmentation is noticed along with the cutaneous distribution of the trigeminal nerve. This condition is most prevalent in Japanese population but comparatively rare among Indians. We report a case of 23-year-old female presented with unilateral pigmented areas over the skin of forehead, malar area, ear and periorbital ...

Diagnosis of pigmented lesions of the oral cavity and perioral tissues is challenging. Even though epidemiology may be of some help in orientating the clinician and even though some lesions may confidently be diagnosed on clinical grounds alone, the definitive diagnosis usually requires histopathologic evaluation. Oral pigmentation can be physiological or pathological, and exogenous or endogeno...

While there have been many advances in our understanding of the genetics of pathological skin pigmentation in humans, our knowledge about what determines variation in normal skin color is still incomplete. Variation in one gene, melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), has been associated with red hair and fair skin in Europeans. However, this gene might also play an important role in shaping pigmentati...