ABSTRACT
As is the case with classifications of many tumors, the sum total of melanoma subtypes does not add up to an entirely logical and consistent whole. The literature on the various melanoma subtypes tends to stress differences rather than points of overlap, to the extent than a picture of separate and distinct subtypes emerges, which differs from the reality of a more continuous spectrum of histological appearances, with features occurring in various combinations, frustrating a simple and unequivocal subclassification. These problems should not be ignored, nor should they be overemphasized.
