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Glossary

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One of the most useful books you can have when first learning dermatology is a good Dermatologic Dictionary.  Look up words and learn root meanings. You are learning a new language and this will help.  The following is a group of words that I have looked up over the years and for one reason or another found useful or interesting enough to jot down...

 

 

acanth(o)derived from the Greek word for thorn or prickle; in dermatology, used in forming words describing conditions of the prickle-cell layer of the epidermis

 

Acanthosis        a generalized thickening of the innermost (prickle) layer of the epidermis

 

acro-                taken form Greek that refers to extremities, tips or high points

 

acrosyringium        the spiral intraepidermal duct of the eccrine gland

 

 

acuminate        (Latin: acuminatus) an adjective meaning rendered sharp or pointed

 

agminated        meaning gathered together in a group

 

-amyl                starch

 

anaplastic        the prototypical malignant cell; devoid of significant differentiation

 

ankylosing        fusion of the bones across a joint space

 

Aphthous        ancient Greek word for ulcer

 

arthropods        possess a hard external skeleton and jointed legs (mites, ticks, insects)

 

astringentas an adjective, the word means binding, contracting, constrictive, or styptic and, as a noun, a substance that has those properties

 

Bence-Jones protein        free kappa or lambda light chains

 

carcinoma        reserved for malignant neoplasia of epithelial tissues i.e. epidermis and endothelium

 

chalazionAKA meibomian cyst; i.e. a swollen sebaceous gland in the eyelid (a subtype of “hordeolum”);   caused by chronic inflammation following blockage of the glands ducts

 

Cicatrix                scar

 

colloidbespeaks a material that resembles glue;  DERMPATH: a characteristic tinctorial change of collagen stained with H&E that results in an amorphous or structure-less pinkness so called

 

Comedones- the non-inflammatory lesions of acne that result from keratin impaction in the outlet of the pilosebaceous canal
-open comedo  or “blackhead” = appears as a dilated pore filled with black keratinous material (not dirt)
-closed comedo or “whitehead” = small, flesh colored, dome-shaped papule

 

congloblate        means gathered into ball (Latin globus, ball)  (e.g. acne congloblata)

 

corn                describes macerated hyperkeratosis at points of friction and pressure

 

coryza(cold in the head)  a catarrhal inflammation of the mucous membrane in the nose due to a cold or hay fever

 

decalvansa Latin present participle meaning becoming bald (-calvans)

 

diutinumLatin adjective meaning lasting for a long time (erythema elevatum diutinum)

 

dyskeratosisabnormal keratinization of squamous cells

 

Dysplasiarefers to cytologic and architectural characteristics with some but not all of the characteristics of malignancy

 

eosinophilic spongiosisspongiosis and exocytosis of eosinophils

 

epitopeantigenic determinant; smallest chemical group on the antigen molecule that can elicit and react with antibody; most antigens have many determinants,  i.e. they are multivalent

 

Excoriation        linear crusts

 

felon                an abscess of a fingertip, the so-called "closed space" infection, which is indeed a villainous thing

 

follicular                individual lesions are more or less equidistant from one another

 

Forme frustean atypical form of a disease in which the usual symptoms fail to appear and its progress is stopped at an earlier stage than would ordinarily be expected

 

fuscoceruleus        fusco-  dark, tawny;        ceruleus-  sky blue

 

glabrous                Latin smooth,  and by extension without hair

 

Hamartomaa group of tumor-like lesions, which represent non-neoplastic overgrowth of tissues indigenous to the site of their occurrence; they are thought to be developmental abnormalities

 

hapten a simple substance (e.g. nickel) that becomes antigenic by combining with and modifying the bodies own proteins

 

harlequinclown (harlequin fetus is a picturesque description of a severe grade of ichthyosis in which hyperkeratosis and  diamond shaped exfoliation is so marked as to suggest the design , color and patchy condition of the traditional costume of a clown)

 

Heliotropic        (helio-) the sun

 

Holocrine        

 

Hypertrophy        increase in size of cells  (vs. "hyperplasia")

 

Hyperplasia        increase in number of cells (vs. "hypertrophy")

 

hystrix        the transliteration of the Greek word for a porcupine. The word is used in the title ichthyosis hystrix, to describe the verrucous character of this form of "ichthyosis"

 

 

Ichthyosisa congenital condition, usually present a birth, in which the skin is dry, rough, and scaly because of a defect in keratinization (hyperkeratosis)

 

Keratodermafrom its Greek elements, literally means a pathologic condition of the skin (-derma) characterized by excessive formation of the horn (kerato-);   Hyperkeratosis and tylosis are near synonyms; callosities, calluses, clavi and corns are keratoderma

 

kerionGreek - honeycomb

 

lamellaa layer, leaf, or plate

 

lamina (see “lamella”)

 

lanugo hairdesignates the fine hairs that are present on the body everywhere except the truly hairless areas (lanugo hairs on humans constitute a vestigial vellus)

 

Lentiginesincreased number of melanocytes and melanin (vs. freckles, which are due to increased melanin with normal number of melanocytes)

 

Lichen(a fungus and an algae) Greek and Latin: those dermatoses that vaguely resemble the botanical formations because they present to the eye a surface pattern of more or less closely agminated papules

 

LivedoLatin: we use the word for blueness from venous congestion

 

lupusLatin word for wolf; it has come to be applied to diseases whose lesions have a gnawed or eroded quality, such as might be imagined to result from a wolf (e.g. lupus vulgaris, DLE)

 

 

marmorata(Latin: like marble) superficial veining of skin that resembles certain pink, streaked marbles

 

mitea small or tiny arachnid

 

necrobiosisused in dermpath to describe simultaneous or concurrent death of tissue and replacement thereof by living elements

 

nitidusLatin adjective meaning gleaming, glistening, shiny

 

nodoseLatin adjective meaning full of knots; a node (e.g. erythema nodosum, polyarteritis nodosa)

 

-oid(Greek) like or in the form of (-ode, odes, -oid, -oides) (amyloid)

 

onychorrhexis:means breakage (-rrhexus) of nail (onycho-)

 

Ortho-1)straight, 2) normal

 

-osus(Latin adjectival ending) meaning full of, having the characteristics of

 

pachy-thick

 

Para-1) near, 2) abnormal

 

Papillomatosisa condition in which many papillomas grow on an area of skin; histologically = projections of the dermal papillae above the skin surface (e.g. in acanthosis nigricans)

 

Pathergyat the site of a needle puncture, a pustule surrounded by erythema may appear; seen in Behçets disease

 

Peladeused by the French speaking for “alopecia areata”

 

perlècheto lick (-èche),  all around (per-)

 

pernioLatin meaning chilblain, frostbite, or congelation

 

phakomatosisliterally the word means a condition (osis) resulting from tumor formation (-omat-) of the lens (phak-) of the eye.  Used to designate genetic conditions that have both cutaneous and neuro-ectodermal, particularly intracranial and ocular, abnormalities.

 

phymaGreek word for swelling, mass, or bulb (e.g. rhinophyma)

 

Pilarispertaining or related to hair

 

PityriasisGreek pityron for bran

 

Planus flat
plasmathe straw colored fluid in which the blood cells are suspended (compare with serum)

 

Poikilodermaa descriptive term of erythema with 4 features: hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation, atrophy, and telangiectasia

 

profunda (profundus) the feminine singular (and masculine singular ) of a Latin adjective meaning deep (e.g. lupus profundus)

 

rupialfrom greek ryphos, dirt, filth;  The adjective particularly is used to describe lesions, especially of psoriasis and syphilis, that have an unusually dirty quality about them in the form of purulence and excessive scaling

 

serumthe fluid that separates from clotted blood that is allowed to stand (i.e. plasma minus fibrinogen and other substances used up by coagulation)

 

sessilehaving no stalk

 

steroids hormones with an intact cholesterol nucleus (e.g. estrogen)

 

striatusarranged in a stripe

 

stye (hordeolum): a suppurative inflammation of a gland of the eye (more general than a “chalazion”)

 

sycosis        from Greek word elements that mean a figgy (syc-) conditions (-osis).  What is meant is a follicular pyoderma consisting of lesions that to some ancient observer suggested small figs. This is one of the less apt names utilizing a familiar object.

 

taches                French word for a spot (ex. taches bleues)

 

tumefaction        Latin: means the process of (-tion) making (-fac-) a swelling (tume-)

 

variegata        mottled

 

vellus hairthe system of very fine, less visible hairs among a coarser, more obvious variety on an animal (lanugo hairs on humans constitute a vestigial vellus)

 

Vermiliona color; variously stated to be bright red or red-brown

 

volarpalm of hand or sole of the foot