ABSTRACT
The skin is the largest organ of the body accounting for 15% of total body weight. The outermost layer of the skin, the epidermis, is a constantly self-renewing structure composed primarily of keratinocytes along with melanocytes, Langerhans cells, and Merkel cells. A unique characteristic of skin disorders is that the clinical features correlate with the microscopic features in a same way as gross pathology in other organ systems. Inflammatory skin disorders include a wide range of conditions which need a systematic approach and clinical correlation to arrive at a definitive diagnosis. In atopic eczema there is a complex interplay between skin barrier dysfunction, deficiencies in the innate immune system and an excessive response to the cutaneous microenvironment. The skin lesions of eczematous dermatitis are identical regardless of the aetiopathogenesis. The skin is the earliest and most commonly affected organ system, followed by the gastrointestinal tract and liver, making accurate assessment of skin biopsies in transplant patients critically important.
