This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables.
It would be platitudinous to marvel once again about the fabulous development of our knowledge of the biochemistry of the skin in its relation to dermatology since the first comprehensive review of this subject was published by Schaaf and the present reviewer in Jadassohn's Handbuch in 1929. Nevertheless, it may be pointed out that since the appearance of my last review in 1954, the ever accelerating rate of progress has become exponential. It is indeed a challenging task to review all the exciting research of the last eight or ten years in the field.
Christopher Carruthers, the distinguished cancer research scientist of Roswell Park Memorial Institute and the University of Buffalo, has undertaken this task. Dr. Carruthers is well known for his pioneering contributions to the biochemistry of normal and neoplastic skin. To mention but a few of these contributions: He isolated fibrous and nonfibrous proteins of the epidermis and