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Hand Dermometrology

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Textbook of Hand Eczema

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Abstract

Hands are typically exposed to a number of physical and chemical agents. They are covered by two adjacent and distinct skin structures corresponding to the palms and dorsum of the hands, respectively. Their respective biologic and physical characteristics are contrasted and support, in part, some typical physiopathologic differences. Clearly, dermometrology increases the accuracy, objectivity, reproducibility, sensitivity, and precision of the subjective clinical assessments of skin characteristics. Environmental and occupational threats to the hands typically alter a series of biologic attributes of the stratum corneum. The multipronged assessment combining determinations of the transepidermal water loss, skin capacitance mapping/imaging, and the skin response to the occlusive stress test represent major relevant and discriminant biometrology-driven methods. The objective assessment of the hand’s skin physiopathology should help in monitoring appropriate medical care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatopathology, University Hospital of Liège, Boulevard de L’ Hopital, Liège, 4000, Belgium

    Gérald E. Piérard M.D., Ph.D., Claudine F. Piérard-Franchimont M.D., Ph.D. & Philippe O. R. Delvenne M.D., Ph.D.

  2. Montefiore (Intelsig), University of Liège, Grand Traverse, Liège, 4000, Belgium

    Sébastien Piérard

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  1. Gérald E. Piérard M.D., Ph.D.
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  3. Claudine F. Piérard-Franchimont M.D., Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Gérald E. Piérard M.D., Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

    Ali Alikhan

  2. Department of Dermatology, Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium

    Jean-Marie Lachapelle

  3. Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

    Howard I. Maibach

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Piérard, G.E., Piérard, S., Piérard-Franchimont, C.F., Delvenne, P.O.R. (2014). Hand Dermometrology. In: Alikhan, A., Lachapelle, JM., Maibach, H. (eds) Textbook of Hand Eczema. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39546-8_2

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