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Biomedical subjects

A B Ackerman

Publications and source records attributed to A B Ackerman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Large-cell acanthoma is a solar lentigo.

On the basis of a study of 54 specimens each of large-cell acanthoma, solar lentigo, reticulated seborrheic keratosis, and lichen planus-like keratosis, it is concluded that clinically, histopathologically, and biologically, large-cell acanthoma is a variant of solar lentigo, and solar lentigo (including the large-cell variant) is a stage in the evolution of reticulated seborrheic keratosis and of lichen planus-like keratosis.

Adult

Naming acquired melanocytic nevi. Common and dysplastic, normal and atypical, or Unna, Miescher, Spitz, and Clark?

Acquired melanocytic nevi are among the commonest neoplasms in man, yet classification of them has proven elusive and elucidation unsatisfactory. From "active junctional nevus" to "dysplastic nevus," the brains of clinicians and histopathologists have been boggled and the psyches and skin of patients have been served badly. This essay advocates eponymic designations for acquired melanocytic nevi, all of which are common, as the surest route to comprehensive classification of them.

Dysplastic Nevus Syndrome

Guttate parapsoriasis/digitate dermatosis (small plaque parapsoriasis) is mycosis fungoides.

Authors of most textbooks of dermatology and dermatopathology consider guttate parapsoriasis and digitate dermatosis to be variants of small plaque parapsoriasis which, they aver, is not related to mycosis fungoides. On the basis of a study of clinical and histopathologic findings in guttate parapsoriasis and digitate dermatosis, we conclude that those conditions actually represent two of the many clinical faces of mycosis fungoides.

Adolescent

The histopathology of dysplastic nevi. Continued controversy.

The histopathologic criteria used in the diagnosis of dysplastic nevi have been a source of controversy, as has the clinical significance of these lesions. Several dermatopathologists noted for their work on dysplastic nevi were asked to contribute responses to questions regarding the architectural and cytological criteria used to classify a melanocytic nevus as dysplastic, the terminology used to describe these lesions, and the role of dysplastic nevi as precursors of melanoma. Although no consensus has been reached regarding the cytologic features required for diagnosis of dysplastic nevi, there is substantial agreement regarding the architectural features of these lesions.

Diagnosis, Differential

Folliculosebaceous cystic hamartoma. A distinctive malformation of the skin.

Five examples of a distinctive sebaceous malformation, designated "folliculosebaceous cystic hamartoma," form the basis of this study. Criteria are proposed for specific diagnosis of this hamartoma and for differentiation of it from sebaceous gland hyperplasia, steatocystoma, dermoid cyst of skin, and sebaceous trichofolliculoma.

Adult

Primary acquired melanosis of the conjunctiva is melanoma in situ.

This essay places the concept of "primary acquired melanosis" of the conjunctiva in historical perspective and shows that it and its analogs, namely, lentigo-melanosis (Hutchinson), melanotic freckle (Hutchinson), melanose circonscrite precancereuse (Dubrueilh), melanotische precancerose (Miescher), lentigo maligna (Clark), precancerous melanosis (Reese), benign, precancerous, and cancerous melanosis (Zimmerman), atypical melanocytic hyperplasia (Silver et al.), and benign acquired melanosis (Zimmerman), are synonyms for melanoma in situ. The issue is not merely semantic or philosophical; it is urgently practical. If a clinician takes literally the meaning of a lesion designated "benign melanosis" and considers it to be benign, rather than the malignant melanoma that it actually is, a patient who bears that flat pigmented lesion may one day die of metastasis from an elevated sequella of it. The same is true of "primary acquired melanosis," which is not simply a condition of blackening by melanin, but a flat melanoma that, if not removed completely, may give rise one day to metastases that cause death. To avoid such misconstructions, we advocate naming melanomas in all organs "melanoma" and those that are confined to epithelial structures "melanoma in situ." Euphemisms like lentigo maligna and primary acquired melanosis are evasions of the diagnosis of melanoma, and use of them may be harmful. For that reason, they should be eschewed.

Conjunctival Neoplasms