TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Laser Treatment of Asian Skin A1 - Nam Shek, Samantha Yee A1 - Lee Chan, Henry Hin A2 - Avram, Marc R. A2 - Avram, Mathew M. A2 - Ratner, Désirée PY - 2015 T2 - Procedural Dermatology AB - Ethnic skin is often classified by the Fitzpatrick Skin Type classification with a scale that ranges from type I (ivory white skin) to type VI (dark brown skin) Table 57-1. Asian skin color is often characterized as types III to V. This reflects the person’s complexion and tolerance to sunlight, which is determined by the melanin content and melanosome dispersion. It is well established that there are no racial differences in the number of melanocytes.1 Melanosomes in keratinocytes of light skin as in Caucasians are distributed as membrane-bound clusters, whereas the melanosomes in keratinocytes of dark skin as in African individuals tend to be distributed individually.2 A study analyzed the melanosomes extracted from the epidermis in subjects of different skin types from various ethnicities. Epidermal melanin content is significantly greater in chronically photoexposed skin than it is in corresponding photoprotected skin (up to twofold). Analysis of melanosome size revealed a significant and progressive variation in size with ethnicity: African skin having the largest melanosomes followed in turn by Indian, Mexican, Chinese, and European.3 Skin pigmentation is strongly influenced by both the amount and composition of the melanin in the epidermis. Variation in melanosome size may also play a significant role. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/10/06 UR - dermatology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1175096827 ER -