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Review
. 2022 Jun;15(6):25-30.

Revealing The Unseen: A Review of Wood's Lamp in Dermatology

Joseph M Dyer  1 , Valerie M Foy  2
Affiliations
Review

Revealing The Unseen: A Review of Wood's Lamp in Dermatology

Joseph M Dyer et al. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

In use for over a century, the Wood's lamp is a time-tested tool to aid in the diagnosis of certain superficial infections, pigmentary disorders, and metabolic diseases. To achieve its high utility, the Wood's lamp projects ultraviolet light onto the skin which in turn reflects a visible light that a trained eye can use to diagnose and monitor multiple dermatological ailments. Although new alternatives to Wood's lamp have been considered, it still remains a favored method of diagnosis because it is safe, cost-effective, and reliable. In this review, the authors explore the myriad applications of Wood's lamp in the field of dermatology.

Keywords: Wood’s lamp; dermatophyte; fluorescence; phosphor; porphyria; ultraviolet light.

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Conflict of interest statement

DISCLOSURES.: The authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this article.

Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
Schematic of electronic transitions during fluorescence. When the relatively more energetic and shorter wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) shine on a phosphor (ph), its electrons (e-) are moved to excited states. Since such excited states are unstable, electrons soon revert to their ground states. Energy decays in the system via vibrational relaxation and other means, and the remainder is emitted in relatively less energetic and longer wavelengths of visible light (VL).
FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 2.
Pseudomonal green nail in normal light (A) and under Wood’s lamp (B). Green fluorescence can be seen under Wood’s lamp.
FIGURE 3.
FIGURE 3.
Cutibacterium acnes on the trunk under Wood’s lamp. Orange-red fluorescence can be seen localized to pilosebaceous units. Photo courtesy of Daniel Chang, MD, FAAD.
FIGURE 4.
FIGURE 4.
Urine in porphyria cutanea tarda emits a pink to red fluorescence. This specimen was not acidified prior to Wood’s lamp examination. Photo courtesy of Brittany Smirnov, DO, FAAD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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