Dermatoscopy may be defined as the examination of the skin by means of the slit-lamp microscope, or dermatoscope. Credit for the introduction of the method is due to Saphier,1 who in January, 1921, presented the first formal report on it. That paper, covering the subject in an inclusive manner, has been followed by articles dealing with detailed observations of particular diseases, as well as pathologic and normal phenomena of special interest and particular applicability for examination.
The slit-lamp microscope has been in use by ophthalmologists for several years and in that department of medicine a fairly large literature about it is being accumulated. The eye is particularly well suited for examination by an instrument which allows observation of the intact organ, and yet magnifies as high as 172 times.2
Dermatoscopy is comparable to ophthalmology in that direct observation forms the most important feature of diagnosis, and so dermatologists