The diagnosis is most often made on the basis of clinical appearance. Diagnostic clues include black dots within the warts and/or pinpoint bleeding after paring down the thickened skin. The wart also tends to disturb the natural skin lines and creates a disrupted surface. A biopsy can be used to confirm clinical suspicion, provide proper diagnosis, and help determine if progression to skin cancer, a rare complication, has occurred.
Physician-developed and -monitored.
Original Date of Publication: 01 Sep 2000
Reviewed by: Stanley J. Swierzewski, III, M.D.
Last Reviewed: 04 Dec 2007
Warts, Diagnosis reprinted with permission from dermatologychannel.net
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