Moles

Moles are growths on the skin. They happen when pigment cells in the skin, called melanocytes, grow in clusters. Moles are very common. Most people have between 10 and 40 moles. A person may develop new moles from time to time, usually until about age 40. In older people, they tend to fade away.

Moles are usually pink, tan or brown. They can be flat or raised. They are usually round or oval and no larger than a pencil eraser.

About one out of every ten people has at least one unusual (or atypical) mole that looks different from an ordinary mole. They are called dysplastic nevi. They may be more likely than ordinary moles to develop into melanoma, a type of skin cancer. You should have a health care professional check your moles if they look unusual, grow larger, change in color or outline, or in any other way. (NIH: National Cancer Institute)

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Molecule of Equivalent Soluble Fluorochrome

A unit of measure of the fluorescence intensity of a fluorochrome-labeled sample, which is equivalent to the fluorescence intensity of a solution…

Molecule

The smallest particle of a substance that has all of the physical and chemical properties of that substance. Molecules are made up…

Molecularly targeted therapy

In cancer treatment, substances that kill cancer cells by targeting key molecules involved in cancer cell growth.

Molecular weight

The sum of the atomic masses of all atoms in a molecule, based on a scale in which the atomic masses of…

Molecular Virology

The study of viral processes at the molecular level. Includes infection, replication, and expression of the viral genome.

Molecular Toxicology

The branch of toxicology that tries to understand the health effects of poisons by understanding the way that genes, proteins, and molecules…