What is a Dermatopathologist?

A dermatopathologist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing skin disorders under a microscope. His subspecialty is a combination of both dermatology, which is the diagnosis and treatment of skin, nail, and hair diseases, and pathology, which focuses on the identification of diseases. Dermatopathologists are like detectives, who need to make microscopic observations of skin cell and tissue samples, as well as evaluate the information given to them by the physician who performed the biopsy, to make a definitive diagnosis.

Pathologists: The Doctors of Doctors

Although oncologists are doctors whose expertise lies in diagnosing, understanding, and treating cancer, many of the principles that they use are linked to pathology. In fact, pathologists are sometimes called the “doctors' doctors” because their specialized knowledge in the diagnosis, cause, development, and characteristics of disease is applied in various branches of the medical field and is relied upon by treating physicians in order to determine treatment options for their patient.

Explaining the Role of the Dermatopathologist

When you have a skin condition or problem, your dermatologist mayhave to perform a series of tests to accurately determine what your condition actually is. Oftentimes, he will take a few samples of your affected skin or in other parts of your body like your nails or hair. He will then send these samples to a dermatopathologist who will mircoscopically analyze them to render a diagnosis.