Dermatitis. Light micrograph of a skin section of a patient suffering from radiodermatitis. This form of dermatitis results from between one and three years of cumulative radiation exposure. It is a chronic progressive disease that is mainly found on the hands of doctors who have been exposed while holding children or fixing breaks under X-ray radiation. The first symptoms are dry, shiny and hairless skin. This is followed by wart- like lesions and ulcers. The final stage is when the dermatitis becomes malignant and skin cancer develops. In this section the normal dermis tissue has been replaced with connective tissue (pale pink).