ABSTRACT
The development of effective topical antibiotics and other antimicrobials has been in large part responsible for the greatly reduced incidence of bacterially caused disorders as impetigo contagiosa, sycosis barbae, and recurrent boils and carbuncles. Improved nutrition and better social conditions and general health must, of course, also have played a major role. It should also be remembered that apparently new skin diseases have suddenly appeared in the past few years perioral dermatitis, juvenile plantar dermatosis and human immunodeficiency virus-related disorders, for example. It seems likely that new skin problems will continue to arise and general practitioners' success at dealing with them will depend on the speed with which they are recognized, researched and successfully treated. A major development in dermatology in the past 30-40 years has been their increasing skill at skin surgery driven in part by the increasing numbers of skin cancers.
