Skin biopsy is the most cost-effective tool in dermatology.
It requires a close partnership between the clinician and the pathologist. Samples will be unrewarding if sampling is done late in the clinical course, an inadequate clinical history is provided, or if the selection of biopsies is poor. They should be part of the standard work-up in dermatology cases, since it provides a permanent record of pathology findings at a particular time. Provide sigmalment and good clinical history on the dermpathform provided. Use a 6 or 8 mm punch, or excisonal biopsy with scalpel.