Cooperation with other disciplines
Although the limits of the specialty are well-defined, dermatology is directly linked to other medical specialties.
Skin lesions can be indicative of more serious systematic problems that affect different internal tissues and organs. Many different skin symptoms or conditions are actually the first sign of autoimmune or rheumatological diseases that can be potentially serious because they affect the internal organs and/or the osteomuscular system. The best-known example of this is cutaneous psoriasis, which is associated with arthritis in 20% of cases.
It is therefore important to not underestimate any skin lesions, big or small, and always correctly diagnose conditions.
In other cases, dermatological issues can originate from:
- infections: verrucae, shingles, etc.
- inflammation conditions: acne, psoriasis, rosacea, seborrheic or atopic dermatitis, etc.
- allergies: hives, eczema, etc.
- autoimmune diseases: vitiligo, lupus, various types of scleroderma, etc.
Many correlations have also been found between certain skin or hair pathologies (acne, alopecia, dermatitis etc.) and emotional factors and/or stress conditions (psychodermatology). For this reason, training as a dermatologist involves building a solid multidisciplinary understanding of immunology, neurology, infectiology, endocrinology, rheumatology, angiology and phlebology.
Finally, oncological dermatology is also very important as it aims to:
- prevent and treat skin tumour pathologies (melanomas, epitheliums)
- monitor moles and precancerous lesions (i.e. skin lesions, such as actinic keratoses, which may be precursors to skin cancer)
