The continuing rise of contact dermatitis, Part 1: The academic discipline.

This article describes the history and development of contact dermatitis as an academic discipline, from early observations documented in ancient Egypt and Greece, to the current medical specialization we know today. Given its essential role in clinical diagnosis, the history of patch testing is also discussed, including the pioneering work of Städeler, von Hebra, Jadassohn, and others. The historical development of some international societies for contact dermatitis is provided, along with some discussion on bibliometric performance in this field. Overall, it can be seen that from humble beginnings, contact dermatitis is now thriving as a specialized field in clinical dermatology.