It is not essential that every book must include a preface but this is the only opportunity an author avails of to express his/her sincerity and ambition and apologise for any pitfalls or shortcomings. Hence, this preface. Several standard textbooks of dermatology and venereology, either independently or conjointly, are available. All these books are no doubt technically very rich in both contents and lucid descriptions, for which they are also voluminous. Yet this volume, HANDBOOK OF DERMATOLOGY AND VENEREOLOGY, has been presented with a humble ambition of making the specialities more easy and brief which may consume least time in going through. The volume therefore excludes detailed description and includes the essential facts of the disease processes in a concise form