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To the Editor:—I should like to register a protest against the perpetuation of the currently accepted confusing and unnecessarily complex terminology used to designate varieties of the common benign mole or cellular nevus, and to propose a simplified nomenclature, as follows: Present Terms Suggested Names Lentigo, benign Junction (junctional) nevus } Growing nevus Compound nevus Intradermal nevus Mature nevus
It is generally believed, so far as I know, that the "junctional" phenomenon is the process by which these nevi grow. Therefore, when this can be found, the nevus may be classified as a "growing nevus"—a term which is self-explanatory, in sharp contradistinction to the expressions "junction" (or "junctional," forsooth!) and "compound," which always have to be explained (usually over and over again) to nondermatologists.
Similarly, a nevus in which this phenomenon cannot be found may be supposed to have attained its full growth, and is therefore "mature"—again, a self-explantory term,