What is "dermatoscopy"

n. (context medicine English) The examination of skin lesions with a dermatoscope—a magnifier (typically x10) with a light and a liquid medium between the instrument and the skin, thus illuminating the lesion without reflected light.

Dermatoscopy (also known as dermoscopy or epiluminescence microscopy) is the examination of skin lesions with a dermatoscope. This traditionally consists of a magnifier (typically x10), a non-polarised light source, a transparent plate and a liquid medium between the instrument and the skin, and allows inspection of skin lesions unobstructed by skin surface reflections. Modern dermatoscopes dispense with the use of liquid medium and instead use polarised light to cancel out skin surface reflections. When the images or video clips are digitally captured or processed, the instrument can be referred to as a "digital epiluminescence dermatoscope".

This instrument is useful to dermatologists in distinguishing benign from malignant (cancerous) lesions, especially in the diagnosis of melanoma.