Skin mole for dummies

Skin moles are common, everyone may have at least a few to 50 moles on his body. The total amount of mole depends on genetic factor. The skin mole can occur on any part of the body. A skin mole is a spot on the skin that is usually protruding or flat with round or oval in shape. The skin mole can be large or small, and it may vary in color from pink flesh tones to dark brown or black.

A Skin Moles is due to a proliferation of the pigment cells, named melanocytes. This is present throughout the skin and is a part of skin pigmentation. When melanocytes occur in cluster formations they result in the eventual appearance of a skin mole. In medical terminology mole also called as melanocytic naevi.

Melanocytic naevi may be present at birth but more usually begin to grow during childhood, although new ones can appear at any age, sometimes in crops. Early naevus cells form nests on the junction between the epidermis (outer layer of the skin) and the dermis (inner layer) so are known as junctional naevi. These are flat, colourful moles.

During adulthood, nests of naevus cells can also form in the dermis (compound naevi) or may only be found in the dermis (intradermal naevi). These naevi are thickened and often protrude from the skin surface. Non-pigmented dermal naevi may also be called cellular naevi. Heavily pigmented dermal naevi appear blue.