Microscopy in Dermatology
Investing in a sturdy high-power biological microscope to aid the dermatologist in performing skin examinations is important since it will allow the dermatologist to see skin and hair samples under magnification for a more accurate diagnosis of skin conditions and disorders.
A dermatological microscope is often used in the detection of dermatophytes, which is a kind of parasitical fungus that can cause such skin conditions like athlete’s foot and ringworms of the skin. While dermatophyte-caused skin diseases can be treated easily enough with medications like ointment, it is not that easy to detect the existence of the fungi in a person’s skin, hair or nails. What the dermatologist usually does in this kind of examination is take skin or hair samples from the patient and mount it on a blank microscope slide which has a drop of either potassium hydroxide (KOH) or liquid paraffin on it to help in the magnification of the image that will be viewed under the biological microscope lens. Dermatologists usually use low-power objectives to view the surface of the skin or hair samples as well as detect any kind of parasite existing therein. For smaller organisms (as with the dermatophyte) or skin conditions that require more magnification, however, the high power objectives are used. Even with the preparations already done for dermatological examination, it might not be easy to detect dermatophyte or other parasitical microorganisms that could exist in the patient’s hair or skin, which makes repeat-examinations advisable.
On another hand, the clinical dermatological microscope is also useful in performing surgery as with the micrografting process used in hair transplanting and other cosmetic surgeries.
The usual clinical microscope provides a two-dimensional view of the image being looked under the microscope lens, and it is necessary for the dermatologist to flatten down the sample being mounted on the microscope slide since contours look blurred under the usual dermatological medical microscope. But with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), it is now possible for scientists and doctors alike to look at a high-resolution image of a thick sample which is called optical sectioning. This is especially helpful in looking at the cell-layers of the epidermis of the skin without actually penetrating the skin of the patient. CLSM allows the dermatologist to make an accurate measurement of both the surface and subsurface of the structure of the skin. This is important not only in the diagnosing of skin diseases but also in research related to dermatology.
There are some parasites and skin diseases that can be seen quite well with the naked eye, but for a more accurate diagnosis for treatment, microscope-assisted dermatology is the best way to go.
