C43.6: Malignant melanoma of upper limb, including shoulder
You have melanoma (skin cancer) on the arms or shoulder.
The tissue in the body is made up of cells. With cancer, the cells multiply uncontrollably, which leads to a malignant neoplasm (abnormal growth of tissue) developing. The cancer cells can destroy the healthy tissue and spread throughout the body.
The melanin-producing cells on your arm or shoulder have multiplied uncontrollably. These cells produce a dark pigment (melanin). This pigment is to protect the body from sunlight. If a lot of sunlight gets on your skin, then these skin cells produce more pigment. This makes the skin brown. If these melanin-producing cells multiply uncontrollably, then a dark spot can be seen on the skin.
Additional indicator
On medical documents, the ICD code is often appended by letters that indicate the diagnostic certainty or the affected side of the body.
- G: Confirmed diagnosis
- V: Tentative diagnosis
- Z: Condition after
- A: Excluded diagnosis
- L: Left
- R: Right
- B: Both sides
Further information
Source
Provided by the non-profit organization “Was hab’ ich?” gemeinnützige GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).