Dermatologists, unlike, for instance, haematologists, are not generally trained in high science and tend to be unfamiliar with the language of the New Genetics. Lacking an interpreter, they can neither understand nor exploit the exciting developments in this field. This two-author volume gives a straight-forward and uniform account of the subject. Relevant and accessible to clinical dermatologists, the text begins with a refresher course in simple background genetics and the development of skin in this context. It goes on, in the two largest sections of the book, to look at the genetics of epidermal and dermal skin disorders; each of these sections is divided into groups of conditions. The final section describes antenatal diagnosis, counselling and gene therapy. The theme of this book is to bridge the gap between clinical dermatology and the new genetics. It provides a straightforward and uniform account of the subject, relevant and accessible to clinical dermatologists, beginning with a refresher course in simple background genetics and the development of skin in this context.