Books on dermatology are either focused for medical s- dents or for students of dermatology. A general practitioner sees a lot of skin patients; about 17% of their patients are related to skin disease. We therefore decided to write a book that should meet the needs of a general practitioner. To make the book helpful for the primary care physician, we have focused more on common skin problems and have discussed the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders in depth to help the general practitioner in diagnosing and treating them. The chapter on the management of skin d- eases also gives the details of topical, systemic, and the phy- cal modalities used in treating skin disease. Uncommon skin diseases are only mentioned where required. The chapter on cutaneous manifestations of systemic diseases will help the general practitioner to correlate the cutaneous signs of the common medical problems seen by them. Emphasis is laid on the bacterial, fungal, and parasitic disorders that are pre- lent in tropical countries. We have included the common d- eases of other continents, as the general practitioner especially of developed countries has patients from all over the world. Congenital and hereditary disorders are discussed with the corresponding chapters, which makes it easier for the reader to remember. A number of practical points are included with each subject, and history of dermatology is included where appropriate to make the subject interesting to read.
