Melanoma, Dermatology Dictionary: Skin Surgery Center

Dermatology Dictionary

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See also: malignant

A malignant neoplasm derived from cells that are capable of forming melanin; may occur in the skin of any part of the body, in the eye, or, rarely, in the mucous membranes of the genitalia, anus, oral cavity, or other sites. In the early phases, the lesion is characterized by proliferation of cells at the dermal-epidermal junction, and the neoplastic cells soon invade adjacent tissue extensively. The cells vary in amount and pigmentation of cytoplasm; the nuclei are relatively large and frequently bizarre in shape, with prominent acidophilic nucleoli; mitotic figures tend to be numerous.