Atlas of clinical dermatology in coloured skin – A morphological approach

Editor: P C Das, Piyush Kumar

Edition: First edition

Publisher: CRC Press, Taylor and Francis group

Pages: 660 (hardcopy) + 58 online chapters

Price: Rs. 7196

Year: 2023

The last few years have seen a good number of dermatology books published by Indian authors. The scientific content and production values of these books are at par with the rest of the world and the availability of high-quality educational material relevant to our needs is a welcome development. Additionally, these books are usually priced advantageously compared to similar books from elsewhere in the world.

The Atlas of Clinical Dermatology in Coloured Skin – A Morphological Approach is a recent publication edited by PC Das and Piyush Kumar. The book has 83 chapters in all and includes 3000 clinical images. Of these, 25 chapters are available in the printed version of the book while 58 chapters are available online. There are six sections: Introduction to Clinical Dermatology; Approach to Clinical Diagnosis (includes chapters based on the morphology of lesions); Regional Dermatology (includes chapters based on site of lesions); Skin in Systemic Diseases and Miscellaneous. Unlike traditional textbooks, diseases are classified based on the site and morphology of lesions, simplifying the complex task of formulating differential diagnoses. In addition, some chapters have classified diseases based on particular age groups or clinical scenarios, e.g., age and pregnancy-related dermatoses, children with rash and fever, photosensitivity in children and adults, etc. With over 90 contributors from all parts of India, the book includes images of several common and rare clinical conditions. As befits an atlas, the images are uniformly of high quality which is particularly praiseworthy because of the large and diverse group of contributors. Apart from the usual diseases, there are excellent images of some rare and endemic conditions like papulonecrotic tuberculosis of the penis, pentazocine ulcer, etc. Most pages are formatted to include three to four images and some text making it an easy reading experience. The text is presented in a point-wise format that many find comfortable to read and understand. As mentioned in the preface, this book does not include investigations, histopathological findings, and treatment of diseases and is focused on clinical morphology. Colour reproduction, paper quality, print, and binding are excellent.

By combining print and online components into a single book, the authors have covered almost the entire spectrum of dermatology without making the hard copy bulky and unwieldy. However, accessing e-content is slightly difficult and requires manually entering the entire web address beginning with https://routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/9781032399¼; the inclusion of QR codes could have simplified the process. It appears odd that the online version is incomplete and lacks chapters that are available in the print version. The probable reason for a part of the book being online and a print part without either being complete, is to prevent the use of the online book by those who have not paid for it. We feel that it would be worthwhile to look for another solution such as the use of a specific key or password and to include all chapters in the online version as that would enhance accessibility and usage.

Dermoscopy is increasingly used for morphologic diagnosis, especially for pigmentary diseases and alopecia. The authors may consider including it in future editions. Additionally, the inclusion of tables summarising differentiating points between morphologically similar conditions would serve as a valuable quick reference.

The book is available for INR 7196 from multiple online platforms which provides access to both hardcopy chapters and e-chapters.

In summary, this atlas is a comprehensive, user-friendly, clinician’s desk reference resource for dermatologists in training as well as those in clinical and academic practice.