Adult Skin Problems Slideshow Pictures Quiz: Can You Identify These Skin Conditions? Gallery of Skin Problems and Images Collection

Exams and Tests

A wart is diagnosed by its location and appearance. If uncertain as to the type of skin problem, the doctor may elect to perform any of several different tests.

• Skin scrapings: The doctor will use a scalpel to scrape the uncertain wart and send the sample to a laboratory. There, the pathologist (doctors trained at looking at skin and other tissues) will look at the scrapings under a microscope to evaluate for other conditions such as skin cancer that may look like a wart.

• Punch biopsy: This is a more invasive way of obtaining a sample of the questionable wart. The doctor will numb the area around the wart and take a deeper coring sample. This skin and questionable wart will be sent to a laboratory for further evaluation that is not possible in a doctor's office. See information about moles and mole removal.