Philippe Humbert - Böcker

Since the first edition of this book was published in 2004, to much acclaim, the pace of innovation in the field of skin metrology has increased and various new technologies have become available. This new, revised edition  reflects these advances by presenting the current theory and practice of noninvasive investigation and measurement of the skin and its appendices in health and disease.The first, extensive part of this authoritative work is devoted to the physiology and metrology of the various structural components of the skin. Skin functions and their measurement are then discussed in detail, with sections on mechanical protection, photoprotection, barrier function, immune function, thermoregulation, and sensory function. In addition, careful consideration is given to skin disease rating and skin maps, and a unique list of physical and biological constants and units is provided.Not only is this new edition the first comprehensive, practical handbook in this domain – it will also serve as a manual of skin physiology and collates anatomical, functional, and physical quantitative data that would otherwise be arduous to retrieve because of their dispersal throughout the literature. It will prove a valuable resource for dermatologists, cosmetologists, bioengineers, physiologists, pharmacists, and all others who deal with the skin in their work.

The first aim of this book is to present all techniques devoted to non-invasive normal or diseased skin measurement. As opposed to current books which present novel methods of investigating the skin, it embraces old and new validated techniques, for all skin suborgans and functions. Thus it may be consulted as a small encyclopedia since it provides the answer to any question concerning skin measurement. Each technique is discussed to help select the most appropriate one for each special case. Within each chapter, the meaning of the obtained parameters is highlighted so that the user is able to interpret the results correctly.The second aim of the book is to base the skin investigation on the physiology and anatomy. Each chapter is preceded by a compendium of current knowledge on the structure or function dealt with. Accordingly, this book is also a manual of skin physiology (21 chapters). There is no recent book on skin physiology - most other books deal with molecular biology. However, the molecular level seems too narrow - the dermatologist, cosmetician, and researcher often need this information on skin physiology as well. Furthermore, the information on the physiology at organ level is essential for understanding in vivo non-invasive investigations of skin. A third aim of the book is to provide help for research purposes. This book consists of a collection of quantity of numerical data on skin anatomy and physiology. It contains a novel, and presently unique list of more than 400 physical and biological skin constants, either dimensional or functional, which are all referenced. In addition, this book is also very attractive to clinical dermatologists as some chapters contain valuable maps and are devoted to clinical scoring of current skin diseases. In summary, this book is a resource for all those interested in or already dealing with the skin. It is an expanded and updated version of a French book published in 2000.

This extraordinary reference describes the scientific basis, summarizes the existing evidence that functional food for skin really works, and addresses the key questions asked by dermatologists and patients when it comes to practical aspects of nutrition based strategies in clinical and cosmetical dermatology.