Congenital skin diseases.

The purpose of this chapter is to review some of the common congenital and hereditary skin diseases in domestic animals. Alopecia, abnormalities in pigmentation, and structural defects of the dermis are addressed in a problem-solving format. Features of other miscellaneous congenital and hereditary skin diseases are discussed. Specific breed and species involvement and the ages of onset are identified. Modes of inheritance and information on recognizing patterns of inheritance by pedigree analysis are presented. Clinical and pathologic findings important to differential diagnosis of these conditions are summarized. Advanced diagnostic techniques useful in further characterizing these conditions are presented.