Troublesome terms in dermatopathology

In an ideal world, if a dermatological diagnosis is not clear clinically, a skin biopsy will provide the answer. In reality, if the clinical picture is puzzling, the pathologist is unlikely to give a ‘eureka’ diagnosis. What you are likely to get is a descriptive report, perhaps with a ‘non-specific’ conclusion, and it is up to you to make sense of it all. However, a good pathology report describes the salient features, and offers a diagnosis or a differential.