Editors: Jean L. Bolognia, Joseph L. Jorizzo, and Julie V. Schaffer
Section Editors: Jeffrey P. Callen, Lorenzo Cerroni, Warren R. Heymann, Gorge J. Hruza, Anthony J. Mancini, James W. Patterson, Martin Rocken, and Thomas Schwarz.
Publisher: Elsevier | Saunders – 2,572 pages (2 volumes)
Book Review by: Nano Khilnani

Access to the text of this book is available for purchasers by going to www.ExpertConsult.oom. Scratch off the Activation Code found on the Scratch-Off tab on the inside front cover of this book, enter it into the “Add a Title” box, click “Activate Now” and click the title under “My Titles.”
The skin is the largest organ of the human body, with the average adult having about 18 square feet of it. Connected to it are the hair, nails, and some glands. All these elements function together to provide protection to us from the elements, homeostasis or balance in temperature, and transmission of sensation.
Dermatology – in two volumes of more than 2,500 pages, 22 sections containing 160 chapters on a variety of topics contributed by some 340 experts from North and South America, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East – is a comprehensive medical reference book that presents the latest information and practices in this field.
Most if not all ailments, disorders, and diseases in dermatology are covered in this book, with their diagnosis and treatment, including surgery. It covers not only the basic science and practice in this wide-ranging medical specialty; it also provides sections on many subspecialties within dermatology.
This huge text and reference work is for dermatology residents and experienced practitioners as well. The book and the online resources (access instructions written above) provide in-depth, expert, and updated information needed in your practice, as well as answers to challenging problems.

With the combined print and online resources of this massive reference source, you can:
• Get regular content updates, download illustrations in JPEG or PowerPoint format, and search the complete contents online with on-the-go access at expertconsult.com.
• Find answers fast with a highly user-friendly, “easy-in-easy-out” format and a wealth of tables and algorithms for instant visual comprehension.
• Get full exposure to core knowledge with coverage of dermatology’s entire spectrum of subspecialties.
• See just the essential information with “need-to-know” basic science information and key references.
• Expedite decision making and clarify complex concepts with logical tables, digestible artwork, and easy-to-grasp schematics.
• Visualize more of the conditions you see in practice with over 3500 illustrations, of which over 1,400 are new: 1,039 clinical images, 398 pathology slides, and 152 schematics.
• Stay at the forefront of your field with updated treatment methods throughout, as well as an increased focus on patients with skin of color.
• Get an enhanced understanding of the foundations of dermatology in pathology, the clinical setting, and dermascopy with a completely rewritten introductory chapter.
• Better comprehend the clinical-pathological relationship of skin disease with increased histologic coverage.
Dermatology is the ultimate multimedia reference for residents-in-training and the experienced practitioner. To give you an overview of what is covered in this two-volume text, we list below the titles of the sections in it:

Volume I
• Overview of Basic Science
• Pruritus
• Papulosquamous and Eczematous Dermatoses
• Urticarias, Eryuthemas, and Purpuras
• Vesiculobullous Diseases
• Adnexal Diseases
• Rheumatologic Dermatology
• Metabolic and Systemic Diseases
• Genodermatoses
• Pigmentary Diseases
• Hair, Nails, and Mucous Membranes

Volume II
• Infections, Infestations, and Bites
• Disorders Due to Physical Agents
• Disorders of Langerhans Cells and Macrophages
• Atrophies and Disorders of Dermal Connective Tissues
• Disorders of Subcutaneous Fat
• Vascular Disorders
• Neoplasms of the Skin
• Medical Therapy
• Physical Treatment Modalities
• Surgery
• Cosmetic Surgery

A good beginning for anyone – medical student, resident or practitioner in dermatology – is chapter 0 entitled Basic Principles of Dermatology. This chapter provides you, at the outset, an illustration tree of dermatologic disorders with four types of diseases of the skin:

1. Infectious: Bacterial, fungal, protozoal, and viral
2. Non-infectious: Papulosquamous and eczematous dermatosis; urticarias and
erythemas; autoimmune connective tissue diseases; and autoimmune bullous diseases
3. Neoplastic: Benign and malignant
4. Other: Genodermatoses and developmental anomalies; and metabolic and toxic
insults/trauma.

This book is well illustrated with real-life, full-color photos of skin disorders clearly labeled with specific medical names, enabling the student and physician to compare them with skin conditions he or she encounters in patients in the daily course of work.
Along with photos are boxes and particularly, series of boxes showing comparisons of similar diseases or the progression of a particular disease from its earliest or nascent stages to its full-developed forms. Detailed photo captions are provided to bring about full comprehension.

Other types of graphics used as teaching aids are: charts, illustrations, tables, views thru microscopes, and other types of visuals. Most of the ones presented are in full color, and usually, three-dimensional.
The superb organization of material in chapters enables the reader to absorb the covered subject matter quickly. A typical chapter starts with an Introduction of the disease or group of diseases, its Epidemiology, its Pathogenesis, its Clinical Features, its Pathology, its Diagnosis and Differential Diagnosis, its Treatment, and Its Prognosis. There are of course subtopics within main headings mentioned above. All chapters end with a Reference list of works consulted, as indicated in the footnotes.
This is unquestionably one of the top, if not the best, book out there on dermatology. It is by far the definitive source on skin disorders, and the largest and most comprehensive reference work, in print and online on the subject of dermatology. It is a massive undertaking involving more than 350 specialists in various areas of dermatology, including some 340 contributors of material to it, eight section editors, and three overall editors. All are to be commended for this monumental work that is truly outstanding.

Jean L. Bolognia, MD is professor of dermatology in the Department of Dermatology at Yale Medical School in New Haven, Connecticut.
Joseph L. Jorizzo, MD is professor and former founding chair of the Department of Dermatology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, South Carolina. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.
Julie V. Schaffer, MD is associate professor of dermatology and pediatrics and director of Pediatric Dermatology in the Department of Dermatology at New York University School of Medicine in New York City.