RT Book, Section A1 Kelly, A. Paul A1 Jamoussi, Mouhiba A2 Kelly, A. Paul A2 Taylor, Susan C. A2 Lim, Henry W. A2 Serrano, Ana Maria Anido SR Print(0) ID 1161543999 T1 Skin of Color: A Historical Perspective T2 Taylor and Kelly's Dermatology for Skin of Color, 2e YR 2016 FD 2016 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071805520 LK dermatology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1161543999 RD 2024/03/29 AB KEY POINTSMyth and religion provided the earliest explanations of skin color.Most early rational explanations ascribed skin color to climate.Nineteenth-century pseudoscientific theories often supported the polygenist school, which stated that there were separate origins of the “races.”Pseudoscientific misinformation, based on faulty or undocumented evidence, justified early twentieth-century sociopolitical prejudices.The theory of evolution ended the polygenist argument and subsequently led to theories of skin color based on evolution.Modern research led to the vitamin D/sunlight theory and an understanding of the evolutionary process behind skin color.The Fitzpatrick skin type scheme classifies skin types by the response of the skin to sun exposure. A few dermatologists use this scheme to classify skin types, although sometimes without fully understanding its correlation to sun exposure.Understanding of the biology of the melanin pigmentary system is based on research using light and electron microscopy.The Human Genome Project, along with advances in DNA and the mapping of the genes, should help dermatologists to further understand skin diseases and their treatment.