types of skin lesions

Nevus

Nevi are defined as congenital anomalies of the skin caused by an excess or deficiency of any of the tissue components. Their disclosure can occur both in childhood and in adult life. Nevi take a variety of forms. They can be flat or convex, have different colors, sizes and shapes, they appear on almost any part of the body. Nevi are sometimes also dangerous, because in the event of mechanical irritation or of solar radiation they may turn into melanoma - a cancer that easily undergoes malignant transformation.

Pigmented nevi (melanocytic nevus), the name is derived from the cells responsible for the production of the skin pigment (melanin). Nevi may be divided into epidermal and dermal.

• Nevus spilus - are located in the skin level, they are demarcated from the environment and do not cause any symptoms. They expand in size as the child grows. In the case of chronic irritation they may be the starting point of malignant skin cancer - melanoma. However, this is rare.
• lentigo (lentigo simplex) - small spots., well marked out from the surrounding. They can have a shade from light to dark brown. They usually occur in higher amounts. They resemble freckles, but are slightly larger. Solar and senile lentigines appear under the influence of chronic exposure to the sun or in elderly people, mostly fair-skinned, slowly tanning. In fact, they are a cosmetic defect. Changes appear in greater numbers in the summer and at this time of year they also darken. Solar lentigines may gradually disappear , and senile changes are permanent. The so-called malignant lentigo is often the starting point of melanoma. They are dark and generally irregularly colored, sometimes slightly arched. They occur on the face, more often in women and elderly people. In these cases, the development of melanoma is slow and course of the disease is relatively mild.
• blue nevus (naevus coeruleus), pigment cells in this case are located quite deep in the skin, usually on the face and limbs. Nevi take colors ranging from blue to black. They belong to the so-called safe nevi, i.e. they rarely are the starting point of melanoma.

Cell Nevi are very common. They can be divided into: connecting, dermal and mixed. They may have a color similar to the color of the skin, light brown to very dark. Their surface can varyand be smooth, verrucose, lobular, they may be flat, raised, nodular, even hairy. Practically in every human being you can find a few changes of this type. The risk of malignancy is low.

• congenital pigmented nevi have a size from a few millimeters to the size of covering the entire skin surface, may be congenital or occur during infancy. In most cases they occur with hair, but hairless changes are not uncommon. The presence of large birthmarks can be associated with the occurrence of congenital diseases and symptoms.

Congenital nevi were divided according to size into:

• small (up to 1.5 cm),
• medium size (from 1.5 cm to 20 cm),
• large (over 20 cm).

Large Nevi are subject to approximately 6-15% risk of malignancy.

halo nevus (Sutton Nevus), occurs most frequently in children and adolescents, usually on the thorax. In the surroundings of a typical cell nevus there is a halo of completely discolored skin, which gradually expands. In the further course of the nevus itself most often flattens out or even completely disappears. The remaining discolored place on the skin may remain permanently, though often it regains the right skin color.

dysplastic nevi may have a genetic basis. They tend to be numerous, have irregular shapes and coloration (various shades of brown, pink and black within one nevus). They can be flat, raised, have no clear demarcation. They occur on the skin of the whole body, including the scalp where, due to constant irritation and hindered observation, they are exceptionally dangerous. They appear most frequently from 6 month to 30 year of life, but also later, although in smaller numbers. Such nevi more often than other develop to melanoma, and therefore require constant medical observation (checkup, every 3 - 12 months), effective protection from direct sunlight and preferably surgical removal.

Seborrheic warts (verruca seborrhoica), - are benign skin lesions often with an uneven surface and they are also pedunculated. Most frequently they are located on the thorax, face and backs of hands. They appear in adult and in elderly people.

Warts are caused by viral papilloma virus. They are painless lumps of horny, uneven surface that does not itch. Usually they occur on the hands or feet solitary or several. They often appear around the nail or under nail plate. Sometimes they disappear spontaneously, but more often require treatment.

Fibtomas - (fibroma), occur as single, flesh-colored bumps most frequently on major folds (groin, armpits),. Usually, they occur in middle-aged and older people, mostly in women, on the neck, back of the neck and around armpits. Their size ranges from 2 mm to 1 cm they are flesh-colored or brown and not accompanied by any symptoms.

Skin cancers develop on a surface of existing lesions known as precancerous conditions. The most common one is called actinic keratosis (keratosis actinica). This exfoliating, excessively keratotic skin lesion occurs in areas subjected to exposure to solar radiation for many years. It occurs most often in older people with fair skin exposed to solar radiation like farmers, sailors, athletes, fans of sunbathing. More and more often characteristics of actinic keratosis are found in young people abusing sunbathing in nature, tanning salon, do not follow the recommended rules of photoprotection. Other precancerous conditions include: cutaneous horn, xeroderma and pigmentosum, burn injury scars, excessive actinic keratoses, Bowen's disease (squamous cell carcinoma preinvasive form), leukoplakia.

Basal cell carcinoma (carcinoma basocellulare) - it occurs some 5 times more often than other forms of skin cancer. It shows local malignancy - that is, it is practically does not show metastases (rarely to lymph nodes, distant metastasis-never). It is also called epitheliomatous. Its characteristic feature is the ease of bleeding even with gentle scratching. It develops very slowly, mainly in elderly people, also due to degenerative changes that occur with age. Basal cell carcinoma usually develops on the face.

Rak kolczystokomórkowy Squamous cell carcinoma (squamous cell carcinoma planoepitheliale) is the second most common type of skin cancer. It is usually found on the head, neck, trunk, limbs and genitals. It is the most common cancer located on the border of the mucous membranes and skin. The risk of squamous cell carcinoma occurs in older people exposed to UV radiation. Squamous cell carcinoma can metastasize to the lymph nodes. It is more frequent when the tumor is larger and infiltrates the tissue deeper (subcutaneous tissue, fatty tissue) and applies to 2% - 20% of cases.

Melanoma (Malignant Melanoma) is a malignant skin tumor. It means that it has a particularly high tendency to early metastasis and low susceptibility to treatment. Over 90% of all melanoma is located on the skin, but that tumor may be places wherever there are pigmentary cells (inside the eye, on the genital mucosa, in the mouth, larynx, esophagus, intestines, and stomach). Most often it occurs within the existing nevus but may also occur (though rarely) on intact skin.