A case of depigmentation caused by adhesive tape is reported. The depigmented area was devoid of dopa-positive melanocytes. Electron microscopy revealed numerous indeterminate clear cells but no melanocytes in between the basal keratinocytes; the suprabasal Langerhans’ cells were normal. The ultrastructural changes seen in this type of externally induced depigmentation were different from those in vitiligo and in one case of vitiliginous depigmentation occurring in the vicinity of a malignant melanoma, where the clear cells at the basement membrane were predominantly Langerhans’ cells with typical granu