Sample Illustrations of Melanoma and Melanocyte from Total Skin, A Definitive Guide to Whole Skin Care for Life

Pictures Worth a Thousand Words

A picture is worth a thousand words...or more. TOTAL SKIN is the first health book of its kind to use illustrations to enhance the dozens of chapters that explain what you can do to keep your skin healthy and young.

Melanoma is a form of skin cancer that begins on the surface of the skin and can, if not detected soon enough, extend into the deeper layers of the skin where the chance of cancer spread increases. This cut-away view of a melanoma shows the wayward cells highlighted in blue.

The MELANOCYTE is the pigment producing cell of the skin that, due to sun or genetic factors, or both, can divide out of control and develop into a melanoma. Dermatologists can study small biopsies of skin under the microscope to determine if a mole or other growth is a melanoma. In this drawing a normal melanocyte is shown with octopus-like tentacles that extend throughout the epidermis to distribute pigment called melanin.

Illustrations for TOTAL SKIN by Katie Atkinson