Dermatomycosis from the Perspective of Dermatopathology (Version 1.1)

Abstract

Dermatomycosis is a skin disease caused by fungi, including dermatophytes and yeasts. Its diagnostic methods include KOH smear, fungal culture test, Wood's lamp test, biopsy, and molecular biology test. Superficial dermatomycosis can already be diagnosed using only KOH smear and culture test, so biopsy has not yet received attention from many clinicians. Nonetheless, biopsy is one of the most basic tests in the field of dermatology, with high diagnostic value for deep and superficial dermatomycoses, which often shows negative findings on KOH smear or fungal culture test. In this study, the histopathologic findings and special chemical staining methods in dermatomycosis are described. This review article is an upgraded English version of the review paper "Dermatomycosis from the perspective of dermatopathology (Korean Version 1.0)" published in 2016.