The department of imaging in Dermatology

Abstract

As of this year, we observe with interest and, at the same time, concern that diagnosis through lesion visualization, which often allowed a detailed description of the process and was performed by visual examination with the aid of a magnifying glass, identified elementary lesions that, together with the patient’s medical history, led to one or several presumptive diagnoses. Today, it is evident that this methodology has fallen short.

However, dermatologists have sought new systems in an effort to see beyond what the eye or a magnifying lens could reveal at that time. If we think that these advancements happened recently, we are mistaken, as one of these diagnostic imaging techniques, dermoscopy, was implemented by Peter Borrelus in 1655, and later Johann Saphier named it “dermatoscopy” in 1920. Currently, imaging techniques in dermatology have expanded, and alongside dermoscopy, skin ultrasound, reflectance confocal microscopy, and optical coherence tomography are now used. These advances have greatly enhanced the ability to examine a patient’s skin, providing valuable support for clinical assessment, histopathological examination, and even aesthetic procedures.