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The Explanation for the Observed Differences

Yan Pan, BMedSc; Daniel S. Gareau, PhD; Alon Scope, MD; Milind Rajadhyaksha, PhD; Nizar A. Mullani, BSc; Ashfaq A. Marghoob, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (Drs Pan, Gareau, Scope, Rajadhyaksha, and Marghoob); 3GEN LLC and TransLite LLC, Houston, Texas (Mr Mullani)

Arch Dermatol. 2008;144(6):828-829.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Differences in observed structures, colors, and patterns present in lesions imaged with nonpolarized dermoscopes (NPDs) and polarized dermoscopes (PDs) have been previously noted.^1-2 Herein we address the science behind the differences observed and present representative lesions in which these differences can be appreciated. Under normal conditions, most of the light that impinges on the skin surface will be reflected (ie, specular reflectance or glare) due to the higher refractive index of the stratum corneum (1.55) compared with that of air (1.0). An NPD reduces this reflection by using a liquid interface that optically matches the refractive index of the glass plate of the dermoscope (approximately 1.52) with the stratum corneum.¹ Elimination of the air interface reduces the amount of light reflected off the stratum corneum (Figure 1, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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