**5. Vertical sections**

Vertically-sectioned punch biopsy specimen is adequate for assessing alopecias associated with interface changes, lichenoid infiltrates, and subcutaneous pathology [3]. However, vertical sectioning will show only 10% of the follicles present in the specimen [4]because the hair follicles, which grow at an angle, cannot be visualized in their entirety in conventional vertical sections.

**Figure 2.** Vertical section of a scalp biopsy from a patient with DLE.
