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Review
. 2017 Aug;25(3):283-289.
doi: 10.1016/j.fsc.2017.03.001. Epub 2017 May 30.

Anatomy of the Skin and the Pathogenesis of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer

William D Losquadro  1
Affiliations
Review

Anatomy of the Skin and the Pathogenesis of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer

William D Losquadro. Facial Plast Surg Clin North Am. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

Skin is composed of the epidermis, dermis, and adnexal structures. The epidermis is composed of 4 layers-the stratums basale, spinosum, granulosum, and corneum. The dermis is divided into a superficial papillary dermis and deeper reticular dermis. Collagen and elastin within the reticular dermis are responsible for skin tensile strength and elasticity, respectively. The 2 most common kinds of nonmelanoma skin cancers are basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma. Both are caused by a host of environmental and genetic factors, although UV light exposure is the single greatest predisposing factor.

Keywords: Basal cell carcinoma; Dermis; Epidermis; Skin; Squamous cell carcinoma.

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