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Review
. 2022 Mar;49(1):1-22.
doi: 10.1016/j.pop.2021.10.001. Epub 2022 Jan 5.

Skin Biopsy Techniques

Jason D Greenwood  1 , Stephen P Merry  1 , Christopher L Boswell  2
Affiliations
Review

Skin Biopsy Techniques

Jason D Greenwood et al. Prim Care. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Because many skin lesions and disorders can appear similar, primary care clinicians often struggle to diagnose them definitively without histopathologic information obtained from a biopsy. This review article explains how to decide whether a lesion should be biopsied and what type of biopsy technique to use and then outlines the stepwise approach to each of the most common skin biopsy techniques: shave, saucerization, punch, fusiform, and subcutaneous nodule biopsies. Finally, potential pitfalls and complications are discussed so the clinician can avoid those and can provide a cosmetically acceptable result from these common outpatient procedures.

Keywords: Biopsy techniques; Fusiform excisional biopsy; Histopathology; Punch; Shave; Skin biopsy; Skin cancer; Skin lesions.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors have nothing to disclose.