It is a pleasure to write this foreword for this novel book edited by three young, dynamic, well-informed dermatologists who also happen to be good friends who I have known for several years. It is indeed a bright thought to conceive the idea of such a book that deals with an aspect which is “so close and yet so far” for practicing dermatologists. Bob Dylan's famous song “The Times They Are A-Changin” rings so true here! Gone are the days when dermatology was a purely visually oriented field, practiced in a small, well-lit room with good lighting and a magnifying lens being its most important prerequisites. Advances and modernization of dermatology are invariably accompanied by the need as well as the urge to order more investigations for accuracy and documentation. Some investigations, however, are ordered or performed mechanically and out of habit. A busy practitioner juggling his time between clinical examination and procedures often does not find time to read indications and relevance for several investigations. This handy book, edited by an astute clinician–academician and two well-trained seasoned dermatologists, will meet that need of a ready reference for the busy practitioner. Authors chosen by them are hand-picked and there is no doubt that they will do justice to their topics. I congratulate the editors and the authors for conceiving and executing the writing of this ready reckoner. I truly hope that it is widely circulated and read.

I feel privileged to write the foreword for the 1st edition of Investigations in Dermatology, edited by Drs Sanjeev Gupta, Rohit Batra, and Sumit Gupta. This book obviously fills the existing gap in the management of dermatologic patients.

Skin diseases are considered to be the mirror image of internal diseases. Although most of the skin diseases are usually diagnosed by simple visual inspection, yet laboratory investigations are required in several clinical circumstances. Various systemic and internal disorders manifest in the skin directly and indirectly; therefore, we require a number of investigations to rule out or confirm the diagnosis. Investigations in dermatology may be necessary to make a diagnosis or to reassure the patient that there is nothing more sinister underlying their skin manifestation. Because of advancement in understanding of etiopathogenesis of various diseases of dermatology and internal medicine and introduction of biologics, the need of various investigations has tremendously increased in the recent past. It is the moral and ethical duty of treating doctors to have better understanding and knowledge of basic interpretation of all the investigations, rather than referring to other specialties.