"Melanin has probably caused more social injustice than any other molecule in the body, yet few sociologists understand the biology of skin colour and few physicians are conversant with the anthropological, evolutionary, and psychosocial aspects of racial pigmentation. All these topics are crisply and elegantly reviewed in this monograph from a Cape Town pharmacologist. Robins has worked hard to select the essential facts from many disciplines, and the result is a concise yet thorough overview of this important subject." John L. Burton, Lancet

• Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Biology of the pigment cell; 2. The biochemical and hormonal control of pigmentation; 3. Ultraviolet radiation and the pigmentary system; 4. Functions of melanin; 5. Non-cutaneous melanin: distribution, nature and relationship to skin melanin; 6. The properties and possible functions of non-cutaneous melanin; 7. Measurement of skin colour; 8. Disorders of hyperpigmentation; 9. Disorders of hypopigmentation; 10. Skin colour and society: the social-biological interface; 11. The evolution of skin colour; References; Index.

"Melanin has probably caused more social injustice than any other molecule in the body, yet few sociologists understand the biology of skin colour and few physicians are conversant with the anthropological, evolutionary, and psychosocial aspects of racial pigmentation. All these topics are crisply and elegantly reviewed in this monograph from a Cape Town pharmacologist. Robins has worked hard to select the essential facts from many disciplines, and the result is a concise yet thorough overview of this important subject." John L. Burton, Lancet

• Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Biology of the pigment cell; 2. The biochemical and hormonal control of pigmentation; 3. Ultraviolet radiation and the pigmentary system; 4. Functions of melanin; 5. Non-cutaneous melanin: distribution, nature and relationship to skin melanin; 6. The properties and possible functions of non-cutaneous melanin; 7. Measurement of skin colour; 8. Disorders of hyperpigmentation; 9. Disorders of hypopigmentation; 10. Skin colour and society: the social-biological interface; 11. The evolution of skin colour; References; Index.

"Melanin has probably caused more social injustice than any other molecule in the body, yet few sociologists understand the biology of skin colour and few physicians are conversant with the anthropological, evolutionary, and psychosocial aspects of racial pigmentation. All these topics are crisply and elegantly reviewed in this monograph from a Cape Town pharmacologist. Robins has worked hard to select the essential facts from many disciplines, and the result is a concise yet thorough overview of this important subject." John L. Burton, Lancet

• Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Biology of the pigment cell; 2. The biochemical and hormonal control of pigmentation; 3. Ultraviolet radiation and the pigmentary system; 4. Functions of melanin; 5. Non-cutaneous melanin: distribution, nature and relationship to skin melanin; 6. The properties and possible functions of non-cutaneous melanin; 7. Measurement of skin colour; 8. Disorders of hyperpigmentation; 9. Disorders of hypopigmentation; 10. Skin colour and society: the social-biological interface; 11. The evolution of skin colour; References; Index.