What is a nevus?
Nevus (plural nevi ) is the medical term for a birthmark. Nevi are the most common abnormality of the skin, and apparently serve no function. If a birthmark is caused by pigment, it's called a pigmented or melanocytic nevus. If it is present at birth, it's called congenital. One in every 50-100 people is born with a small mole. Most people don't realize that moles can be so large as to be described medically as giant nevi. Moles can cover a very large part of the body. Large nevi are found in every race, and strike genders equally. Nevus Outreach deals specifically with large congenital melanocytic nevi - big pigmented moles that are present at birth.
A large or giant nevus is pretty rare. Certainly rare enough that, before Nevus Outreach, most people who had one never met another person with one. They say the incidence is one in a half-million for a giant nevus. That may be correct, but with all the people we've found who have one, it might be a little low. One in a half-million would be 600 people in the USA - thanks to the internet, we already know a few more people with nevi than that. Still it's pretty rare!
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