Skin and ear diseases are the most common problems that veterinarians deal with in practice on a daily basis. Because many of these cases are secondary to genetic causes, cure is often not possible, and management becomes the mainstay of therapy. Fortunately, many advances in diagnostics and therapeutics have been made in the field of veterinary dermatology, and pet owners are demanding a higher level of care and are often willing to allow advanced diagnostic testing and therapy. To be able to offer your clients this higher quality of medicine, it is imperative to stay current on the latest options available to manage these chronic and sometimes frustrating cases.

To help you in this effort, the new Compendium dermatology series, Applied Dermatology, will provide practical, easy-to-use techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of many common canine and feline ear and skin diseases. The articles in this new series, which debuts in this issue, will be written or coauthored by diplomates or residents of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology, who will present evidence-based approaches to common dermatologic conditions. This new column will appear quarterly. Occasionally, recognized dermatology experts will contribute their individual approaches to specific problems as online supplements to this series; the first of these articles, "A Practical Approach to Diagnosing and Managing Ear Disease in Dogs," by Paul Bloom, DVM, DACVD, DABVP (Canine and Feline), will be published on CompendiumVet.com this month.

We hope that this new column will provide valuable information on how specialists approach and manage common skin and ear diseases and will help keep you updated on new diagnostic and therapeutic options so you can better handle these often frustrating cases in your clinical practice.

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