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A birthmark is a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth—usually in the first month. Birthmarks can occur anywhere on the skin. They are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocytes, smooth muscle, fat, fibroblasts, or keratinocytes. Dermatologists divide birthmarks into two types: pigmented birthmarks and vascular birthmarks. Pigmented birthmarks caused by excess skin pigment cells include: moles, café au lait spots, and Mongolian spots. Vascular birthmarks, also called red birthmarks, are caused by increased blood vessels and include macular stains (salmon patches), hemangiomas, and port-wine stains. A little over 1 in 10 babies have a vascular birthmark present by age 1. Several birthmark types are part of the group of skin lesions known as nevi or naevi, which is Latin for "birthmarks". Birthmarks occur as a result of a localized imbalance in factors controlling the development and migration of skin cells. In addition, it is known that vascular birthmarks are not hereditary. Congenital melanocytic nevus Congenital melanocytic nevus is a type of melanocytic nevus, the medical term for what is colloquially called a "mole", found in infants at birth. Occurring in about 1% of infants in the United States, it is located in the area of the head and neck 15% of the time, but may occur anywhere on the body. It may appear as light brown in fair-skinned people, to almost black in people with darker skin. Coming in a variety of sizes and appearances, they may be irregular in shape and flat, or raised and lumpy in appearance and feel. Such naevi can also manifest themselves as beauty marks, which most commonly appear on the face, neck or arms. Café au lait spot Café au lait spot macules may occur anywhere on the body. They are most commonly oval in shape and light brown, or milk coffee, in color. These birthmarks may be present at birth, or appear in early childhood, and do not fade much with age. One or two on an individual is common; however, four or more may be an indicator of neurofibromatosis.

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Nevus

Nevus (plural nevi) is a nonspecific medical term for a visible, circumscribed, chronic lesion of the skin or mucosa. The term originates from nævus, which is Latin for "birthmark"; however, a nevus can be either congenital (present at birth) or acquired. Common terms, including mole, birthmark, and beauty mark, are used to describe nevi, but these terms do not distinguish specific types of nevi from one another.

Melanocytic nevus

A melanocytic nevus (also known as nevocytic nevus, nevus-cell nevus and commonly as a mole) is usually a noncancerous condition of pigment-producing skin cells. It is a type of melanocytic tumor that contains nevus cells. Some sources equate the term mole with "melanocytic nevus", but there are also sources that equate the term mole with any nevus form. The majority of moles appear during the first two decades of a person's life, with about one in every 100 babies being born with moles.

White people

White is a racialized classification of people generally used for those of mostly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity, point of view, appearance, etc. Description of populations as "White" in reference to their skin color is occasionally found in Greco-Roman ethnography and other ancient or medieval sources, but these societies did not have any notion of a White race or pan-European identity.

Photodynamic therapy for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy

Hubert van den Bergh, Patrycja Nowak-Sliwinska

The first effective therapy for exudative macular degeneration (AMD) was Photodynamic Therapy (PDT). Diagnosis of the disease was to a large extent by fluorescein angiography (FA). Distinguishing between the leaky choroidal neovessels (CNV) associated with ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2013

Sox10 promotes the formation and maintenance of giant congenital naevi and melanoma

Yann Barrandon, Friedrich Beermann, Stéphanie Claudinot, Lukas Sommer

Giant congenital naevi are pigmented childhood lesions that frequently lead to melanoma, the most aggressive skin cancer. The mechanisms underlying this malignancy are largely unknown, and there are no effective therapies. Here we describe a mouse model fo ...

Nature Publishing Group2012