Dermatopathology for residents

Abstract

A digital and interactive dermatopathology book for residents and all who want to learn dermatopathology has arrived, and it's free! Dermatopathology for Residents, edited by Singh, Elston, Bhawan, and Prieto, offers easy access to hundreds of dermatologic diagnoses and high-resolution slides. The combination of succinct, high-yield teaching points and remarkably real slide interactions make this online book a valuable resource for all dermatology and pathology residents and others who want to learn dermatopathology.The book is comprehensive, with 35 chapters covering inflammatory and neoplastic dermatopathology, but the online format and search options make for easy reading. For each diagnosis, there are tabs for clinical photographs and work-up recommendations; there are also tabs for dermatopathology summaries and slides, which are very useful. The dermatopathology slides are outstanding, particularly at high power, and the digital zoom is easy and smooth. Perhaps most impressive is the feature that allows for side-by-side comparison of slides, which affords readers the ability to view and compare pathologic sections of cases included in the differential diagnosis. Outside of sitting behind a microscope with an extensive collection of slides available, you will not find a more useful tool.Historically, learning dermatopathology included logging time at the microscope. Although nothing beats using an actual microscope, this is as good as it can get . maybe even better, because the future will likely include digitalization of slides for sign out. A note to future readers of this online textbook: allow yourself a few minutes to figure out the interface. In addition, I think some of the pathologic examples would have been educationally enhanced with the addition of special stains and/or immunohistochemistry.In my opinion, this book is a tremendous resource. To access the book, simply create a free account at https://publications.pathpresenter.net. Malcolm Creighton-Smith, MDFarmington, Connecticut http://dx.