An approach to the clinical diagnosis of malignant melanoma, its recursors, and its clinical mimics -- The freckles and lentigines -- Benign acquired nevi -- The dermal dendritic melanocytic proliferations/dermal melanocytosis -- Spitz nevus -- Combined nevus, deep-penetrating nevus, and plexiform spindle cell nevus -- Recurrent melanocytic nevus -- The congenital nevus -- Dysplastic melanocytic nevi, de novo intraepidermal epithelioid and lentiginous melanocytic dysplasias,and nevi at specific anatomic sites -- Malignant melanoma -- Conjunctival melanocytic proliferations -- The use of adjunctive immunoperoxidase, molecular, and ultrastructural studies in the diagnosis of melanocytic proliferations -- The biology of melanoma -- The borderline nevomelanocytic proliferation -- Dermatoscopic diagnosis of melanoma -- Reflectance confocal microscopy / with contributions from Condon Hughes and Christi Alessi-Fox -- The therapy of malignant melanoma