History
In the 1950s and 60s (and, to lesser extent, currently) a facial mole was known as a "beauty mark" when it appeared in certain spots on a woman’s face. Examples include Marilyn Monroe, model Cindy Crawford, singer Madonna, and the fictional Ms. Pac-Man. Madonna's facial mole—below her right nostril—has been surgically removed. Almost everybody has at least one or two moles somewhere on his or her body, while large numbers can be concentrated on the back, chest, and arms. Although they can be less noticeable because of the similar colors of the surrounding skin, darker skin shades have equivalent incidences of moles to lighter skin shades. Some folklore about moles includes the notion that picking at a mole can cause it to become cancerous or grow back larger. While chronic picking or irritation (by clothing) of a mole can be detrimental in many ways, it has not been associated with a higher incidence of cancer. It is recommended by physicians that a dermatologist examines a mole to see if it should be removed. The dermatologist or plastic surgeon can perform the procedure with an eye toward preventing a larger scar.
Read more about this topic: Melanocytic Nevus
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“It is my conviction that women are the natural orators of the race.”
—Eliza Archard Connor, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 9, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)
“There is one great fact, characteristic of this our nineteenth century, a fact which no party dares deny. On the one hand, there have started into life industrial and scientific forces which no epoch of former human history had ever suspected. On the other hand, there exist symptoms of decay, far surpassing the horrors recorded of the latter times of the Roman empire. In our days everything seems pregnant with its contrary.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“One classic American landscape haunts all of American literature. It is a picture of Eden, perceived at the instant of history when corruption has just begun to set in. The serpent has shown his scaly head in the undergrowth. The apple gleams on the tree. The old drama of the Fall is ready to start all over again.”
—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)