Book review: Illustrated Dermatology

Illustrated Dermatology: Including Skin of Color

4^th edition

Yasaman Mansouri and Howard Maibach

Published December 2022

ISBN 978-93-5465-757-3

Price £48

This excellent book is a cross between an atlas and a provider of fairly basic knowledge of dermatology and covers commonly seen scenarios. It is ideal for people who want to learn more about dermatology and so is primarily aimed at mainly non-specialist dermatologists. This could include a variety of healthcare professionals as well as a primary care physicians and newly qualified doctors who want to brush up on their dermatology as well as medical students and nurses who deal with skin problems.

I would say it is primarily an atlas, but each condition comes with a good basic description under the headings of clinical and treatment. The text is laid out in bullet points and there is a useful and highly relevant clinical information which can be quickly read and absorbed. This text clearly accompanies the clinical images and so makes a decent contribution to learning about common dermatological scenarios.

The authors (both US based) seem used to teaching non dermatologists as they have clearly conveyed the basics required by the reader from the target audience. But the meat of the book are the superb images which seem to be present in every group of 2 facing pages. They are high quality, relevant and educational as well as interesting. The book is only 256 pages and is actually accessible enough to go through the whole book methodically and wont take too long.

Illustrated Dermatology – including skin of color

I am delighted that underneath the title at the front of the book under “Illustrated Dermatology” it states, “including skin of color” Over the years I have been astonished that such a sub group has been ignored and this is a huge plus that this book acknowledges this on the front cover. This is also mentioned in the preface. A good example of this is the excellent description of Pityriasis Alba on page 17 with 3 excellent clinical pictures that are large and clear. The accompanying text of Clinical and Treatment is only half a page and in bullet points but carries a surprisingly amount of clinical information in condensed format.

The book is perfect for simply opening up a page at random and learning about a specific condition. So at random, I opened it at page 149 and there is an excellent description of scabies with six clinical pictures of high quality and will help the reader recognise this condition in a clinical or exam setting. The clinical and treatment sections spans 2 pages and is excellent and reminds us that scabies is rarely spread by casual contact such as a medical examination or even a handshake.

The book can also be a good reference source for run of the mill skin conditions but if you need to research something less common then you may need to look elsewhere. However common things are common, and this book has a high practical value. There does not seem to be an online presence for this book which is a shame, but it is well priced and offers good value for money and is useful and practical. Now in its 4^th edition, up to date with excellent illustrations, it deserves to do well.

Dr Harry Brown is a retired GP and medical editor of Pavilion Health Today