ON THE NATURAL-HISTORY AND COMPARATIVE PATHOLOGY OF THE BLUE NEVUS

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 62  (5) , 327-334
Abstract
In man the epidermis is the final destination for most melanocytes of neural crest origin, and they migrate to a variety of sites. Dermal melanocytic distribution, conspicuous in some lower animals, has a very restricted normal distribution in man. Of the variety of anomalies which exist, the blue nevus is the most frequently encountered. It is comparable to the common melanocytoma of dog and hamster. More widespread dermal melanocytoses are rare. A unique case in which death from melanoma supervened is an example of a syndrome, the only parallel of which appears to be equine melanotic disease, a disorder of aging, greying horses. The newly described syndrome and equine melanotic disease apparently are examples of a neurochristic disorder involving the cephalad segments and dermal melanocytes.