World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2007. Pruritic skin diseases often can mimic each other. Atopic dermatitis, flea allergy dermatitis, food allergy, scabies & pyoderma or Malassezia dermatitis without underlying allergic skin disease all can be differential diagnoses for each other.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2007. Histopathology can be very useful in establishing a diagnosis of skin disease including neoplasia.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2007. A multitude of tests are used in veterinary dermatology, these include both 'in-practice' tests & those performed by a veterinary pathology laboratory. There are basic tests in which every practice interested in dermatology should become proficient & which can be performed & evaluated quickly in house, these are covered in this lecture.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2007. An itch (pruritis) is a sensation felt on an area of skin that makes an animal want to scratch this area. Pruritus is a clinical sign & not a diagnosis or specific disease.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2006. Increased frequency of skin biopsy has allowed the diagnosis of an increasing number of feline skin diseases. Miscellaneous Newly Described Feline Skin Diseases: Feline degenerative mucinotic mural folliculitis, Feline paraneoplastic alopecia, Feline thymoma-associated exfoliative dermatitis, Proliferative necrotizing otitis of kittens, Erythema ab igne, Feline superficial demodicosis.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2004. Traditional shampoo formulations are composed of surfactants (cleansing agents, foaming agents & conditioners) as well as thickeners, softeners, sequestering agents, preservatives, fragrance & sometimes opacifiers & colouring additives. Surfactants are amphophilic molecules, i.e., molecules with a dual affinity, both for water & oil.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2004. In a strict sense, the cutaneous disorders that should be viewed as markers of an internal disease are caused by the secretion of yet unknown or known. Paraneoplastic, metabolic, inflammatory & developmental diseases constitute the main components of this interesting group of dermatoses, the display of which should alert the clinician for further investigation of internal organ systems.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2003. The dermatophytes are a highly specialised group of related, filamentous, pathogenic fungi that share the unusual ability to digest & derive nutrition from keratin. The term dermatophyte is restricted to those members of the three genera of Microsporum, Trichophyton or Epidermophyton that cause disease by parasitising the keratinised tissues (skin, hair & nails) of man & animals.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2003. Immune mediated or autoimmune skin diseases other than Pemphigus foliaceus are uncommon to rare in the cat. Pemphigus Foliaceus (PF): Diagnosis, First line therapy, Other Pemphigus syndromes. Bullous pemphigoid. Immune-complex vasculitis. Cutaneous "lupoid" diseases: Diagnosis, Therapy. Systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE). Feline Plasma Cell Pododermatits, Feline Atrophic Auricular Polychondritis.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2003. There are several causes of non-inflammatory alopecia in the cat. In this species alopecia is usually seen in large, sometimes confluent patches. With exception of the self-inflicted alopecias, hairs are usually easily epilated, & differentiating the underlying cause is often difficult.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2003. Dry Seborrhea:Congenital, Reaction to external injury: Physical trauma, Infectious agents. Reaction to internal injury: Pustules & collarettes, Lymphocytic exocytosis. Metabolic causes. Defective lipid barrier & skin dehydration: Water balance disturbances, Sebaceous gland alterations: Sebaceous adenitis, Decreased horny layer destruction. Greasy or oily seborrhea: Congenital, Acquired: Malassezia infection, Testicular tumours.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2003. The Use Of Lufenuron For Dermatophytosis. Cyclosporine For Atopic Dermatitis & Other Diseases. Pentoxifylline & Ischemic Dermatopathies. Infiltrative Mural Folliculitis (Lymphocytic Mural Folliculitis) in Cats. Six types of infiltrative mural folliculitis: Dermatophyte-associated. Sebaceous Adenitis. Pseudopelade-like. Mild idiopathic. Mucinotic degenerative. Early/prodromal feline epitheliotropic T-cell lymphoma.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2003. Mycobacterial panniculitis refers to a syndrome characterized by chronic infection of the subcutis & skin with Rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM).

Superficial necrolytic dermatitis is characterized by the deterioration and death of skin cells. High levels of the hormone glucagon in the blood (which stimulates production of blood sugar in response to low blood sugar levels) and deficiencies in amino acids, zinc, and essential fatty acid are believed to play a role in superficial necrolytic dermatitis, either directly or indirectly. Fortunately, this disorder is uncommon in cats.

Sterile nodular/granulomatous dermatoses are diseases in which the primary lesions are nodules, or masses of tissue that are solid, elevated, and greater than one centimeter in diameter. The nodules are usually the result of an infiltration of inflammatory cells into the skin. This may be a reaction to stimuli within the body or to stimuli outside the body.

Exfoliative dermatoses refers to a group of skin disorders that can be traced to one or more underlying disorders, which may vary in severity and treatment methods, but that share the common symptom of scaling skin. Therefore, exfoliative dermatoses is not the primary diagnosis, but the main descriptor. It is typically due to excessive or abnormal shedding, excessive accumulation of skin cells, or a loss of the cells' ability to adhere to each other.

Panniculitis is a condition where the layer of fat just under the cat's skin (subcutaneous fat tissue) becomes inflamed. Though uncommon, the fatty tissue typically concentrates and affects the trunk area as a single nodule or as multiple nodules. In addition, as a result of secondary infections and other complications, the fat cells within the nodule(s) may die.

Sporothrix schenckii is a fungus that has the potential to infect the skin, respiratory system, bones and sometimes the brain, causing a diseased state called sporotrichosis. Infection is caused by the virtually ubiquitous dimorphic (mold and yeast) fungus, S. schenckii, which typically infects via direct inoculation - that is, through abrasions of the skin or by inhalation.

Malassezia pachydermatis is a yeast commonly found on the skin and ears of cats. However, an abnormal overgrowth of the yeast can cause dermatitis, or inflammation of the skin. The exact reasons behind this disease are not yet known, but it has been linked to allergy, seborrhea, and possibly congenital (born with) and hormonal factors.

Cutaneous (dicoid) Lupus Erythematosus is an immune-mediated skin disease, or a disease brought on by abnormal activity of the immune system, whereby it attacks its own body. Relatively uncommon in cats, Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus is considered a variant of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).