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Identifying local features by dermoscopy can assist in the diagnosis of skin lesions. It was originally in the form of a column written by Dr Amanda Oakley and published by New Zealand Doctor in March 2010. It was revised and prepared for DermNet by Niket Shah, final year medical student, University of Otago, in May 2020.
For each of the 16 cases, study the image(s) and then answer the questions. You can click on the image to view a larger version if required. Each case should take approximately 2 minutes to complete.
Describe the local dermoscopic feature.
This lesion has a blotch of pigmentation. It is a dark brown or black structureless area with asymmetric distribution within the lesion.
What is the diagnosis?
Melanoma
The lesion has a nonspecific global pattern with considerable variation in pigmentation, typcial of melanoma in situ.