| abrasion |
scrape |
| abscess |
pus-filled wound |
| acne |
skin disease characteristic of puberty |
| actinic |
light-caused |
| adipocyte |
fat cell |
| albinism |
condition of white skin |
| albino |
person who has a mutation in the melanin gene, causing changes in skin appearance |
| allograft |
a skin tissue donation from an unrelated individual of the same species (same as homograft) |
| alopecia |
baldness |
| anagen |
stage of hair growth |
| androgen |
steroid causing the development of male sexual characteristics |
| anesthetic |
drug that removes feeling |
| angioma |
blood vessel tumor |
| anhidrosis |
lack of sweat |
| antihistamine |
drug that fights inflammation (the chemical histamine is released in the inflammatory response) |
| antipruritic |
drug that fights itching |
| antiseptic |
chemical that fights microorganisms |
| atopic |
an allergic reaction that occurs away from the site of exposure |
| atrichosis |
absence of hair |
| autograft |
a skin tissue donation from oneself |
| bilirubin |
blood chemical formed from the breakdown and recycling of red blood cells |
| biopsy |
tissue sample used for examination by a pathologist |
| bulla |
blister |
| carcinoma |
cancerous tumor |
| carotene |
orange-colored precursor to vitamin A, found in carrots |
| catagen |
stage of hair growth |
| cauterize |
use a cautery to burn tissue |
| cautery |
device used to burn tissue (e.g. to stop bleeding) |
| chemosurgery |
surgery using chemicals |
| chemotherapy |
therapy using chemicals |
| cicatrix |
scar |
| circulation |
the way blood moves around the body in a circle |
| comedo |
zit |
| corneocyte |
a keratinocyte that has lost its nucleus and become a bag of keratin |
| crust |
crust |
| cryosurgery |
surgery using cold |
| cutaneous |
pertaining to the skin |
| decubitus |
from lying down |
| dendritic |
pertaining to a tree (shape) |
| depigmentation |
the process of removing pigment |
| dermabrasion |
scraping the skin |
| dermatalgia |
pain in the skin |
| dermatitis |
inflammation of the skin |
| dermatodynia |
pain in the skin |
| dermatofibroma |
fibrous tumor of the skin |
| dermatology |
study of the skin |
| dermatolysis |
breakdown of the skin |
| dermatomycosis |
fungal infection of the skin |
| dermatoscopy |
visualizing the skin with an instrument |
| dermatosis |
disease of the skin |
| dermis |
the skin, specifically the internal connective tissue layer |
| dermopathy |
skin disease |
| dermoscopy |
visualizing the skin with an instrument |
| dysplastic |
malformed |
| ecchymosis |
bruise |
| eccrine |
type of sweat gland used for thermoregulation |
| eczema |
skin disease |
| electrocauterization |
using electrical current to burn tissue |
| electrodesiccation |
using electrical current to dry tissue |
| epidermal |
pertaining to the epidermis |
| epidermis |
the skin, specifically the external layer |
| eponychium |
cuticle |
| erosion |
slowly wearing away |
| erythema |
redness |
| erythrocyanosis |
reddish-blue color of skin when the body is cold |
| erythroderma |
red skin |
| eumelanin |
pigment protein melanin which has a dark brown or black color |
| evaporation |
the process of forming vapor (i.e. water entering the atmosphere) |
| excisional |
pertaining to cutting out |
| excoriation |
skin-picking disorder |
| fissure |
deep crack |
| glabrous |
hairless |
| granule |
small grain |
| hemathidrosis |
sweating blood (as when studying for Medical Terminology exams) |
| heterograft |
a skin tissue donation from another species (same as xenograft) |
| hidradenoma |
tumor in a sweat gland |
| hidradentitis |
inflammation of a sweat gland |
| hidropoiesis |
the process of forming sweat |
| homograft |
a skin tissue donation from an unrelated individual of the same species (same as allograft) |
| hyperhidrosis |
sweating too much |
| hyperkeratosis |
abnormal skin thickness due to disease |
| hypermelanosis |
abnormally high skin pigmentation due to disease |
| hyperpigmentation |
abnormally high skin pigmentation due to disease |
| hypertrichosis |
abnormal hair production due to disease |
| hypodermic |
pertaining to the layer internal to the skin (below the dermis); hypodermic needle |
| hypodermis |
layer of connective tissue below the dermis |
| hypohidrosis |
sweating too little |
| hypomelanosis |
abnormally low skin pigmentation due to disease |
| hyponychium |
skin under the free edge of the nail |
| hypopigmentation |
abnormally low skin pigmentation due to disease |
| ichthyosis |
fish-scale-like skin |
| impetigo |
bacterial skin infection |
| incision |
surgical cut |
| intradermal |
inside the dermis |
| jaundice |
yellowish color of the skin, usually due to liver disease |
| keloid |
abnormal skin healing process |
| keratinocyte |
the keratin-filled cells that form the layers of the epidermis; when they are shed they are called squames |
| keratoderma |
abnormal thickening of the skin due to disease |
| keratogenic |
promoting the formation of epidermis |
| keratosis |
skin lesion |
| leukoderma |
white skin |
| lipectomy |
surgical removal of fat |
| lipoma |
fatty tumor |
| liposuction |
surgical removal of fat using negative pressure |
| lunula |
"little moon": light-colored area at the base of each nail |
| macerate |
to develop soft, wet, or soggy skin; usually because of long-term water exposure or abnormal healing |
| macule |
discolored patch of flat skin |
| melanin |
protein that causes skin pigmentation |
| melanocyte |
cell that produces and stores melanin |
| melanoma |
extremely dangerous cancer that arises from melanocytes |
| melanosome |
melanin-filled pigment granules inside melanocytes |
| mycodermatitis |
inflammation of skin due to fungal infection |
| mycosis |
fungal infection |
| myringodermatitis |
inflammation of the skin of the eardrum |
| necrosis |
death |
| neoplasm |
new growth; synonym for cancerous lesion |
| nevus |
freckle |
| nodule |
abnormal bump in skin |
| onychalgia |
pain in nails |
| onychectomy |
surgical removal of a nail |
| onychia |
infection of the soft tissues around or under the nail |
| onychocryptosis |
ingrown nail |
| onychodystrophy |
malformed nail |
| onycholysis |
breakdown of a nail |
| onychomalacia |
softening of a nail |
| onychomycosis |
fungal infection of a nail |
| onychopathy |
disease of a nail |
| onychophagia |
nail biting |
| onychotomy |
cutting into a nail |
| pachyderma |
thick skin |
| papilla |
"nipples" or ripples in the dermis which help it attach to the epidermis |
| papillary |
pertaining to papillae |
| papule |
small raised area of skin |
| paronychia |
infection of the nail folds or cuticle |
| percutaneous |
through the skin |
| permeability |
property of being able to penetrate |
| petechia |
red pinpoint on the skin (usually used as the plural petichiae) |
| pheomelanin |
pigment protein melanin which has a yellowish color |
| pigment |
coloring agent |
| pilonidal |
cyst which contains hair and pus, usually near the top of the gluteal fissure |
| pilosebaceous |
the hair follicle and associated glands taken as a unit |
| plaque |
dry, scaly area of skin |
| protection |
defense against skin damage |
| pruritus |
itchiness |
| psoriasis |
skin disease |
| pustule |
small, inflamed, pus-filled blisters on the skin (as in acne) |
| rhinoceros |
a large mammal with a horn on its nose |
| rhytidermia |
wrinkled skin |
| rhytidoplasty |
surgical modification of wrinkles |
| scale |
peeling or flaking of outer skin layers |
| sclerodermatitis |
hard, thickened area of inflammation in the skin |
| scleronychia |
hard, thickened nails |
| sebaceous |
pertaining to the glands that make sebum |
| sebolith |
stone in a sebaceous gland |
| sebopoiesis |
the process of forming sebum |
| seborrhea |
skin lesions (usually on scalp) that cause scaly patches, inflamed skin, and dandruff |
| seborrheic |
pertaining to seborrhea |
| sebum |
oily secretion |
| sensory |
receiving information from the environment (e.g. the sense of touch) |
| squamous |
cells that are wider than they are tall ("fish scales") |
| steatitis |
inflammation of the fat tissues |
| steatoma |
fatty tumor |
| subcutaneous |
pertaining to the layer internal to the skin (below the dermis); same as hypodermis |
| subungual |
beneath the nail |
| telangiectasia |
small, widened blood vessels in the skin; "spider veins" |
| telogen |
stage of hair growth |
| thermoregulation |
keeping the body temperature within normal limits |
| tinea |
a type of fungal infection |
| topical |
applied to the skin |
| transdermal |
across the skin |
| triceratops |
a dinosaur with three horns on its face |
| trichomegaly |
abnormally long eyelashes |
| trichomycosis |
infection of the follicles |
| tumor |
swelling |
| ulcer |
open sore |
| unguent |
old name for ointment; butter |
| urticaria |
large raised red patches of skin; hives |
| vascular |
pertaining to vessels |
| verruca |
wart |
| vesicle |
small, fluid-filled, raised skin bump |
| vitiligo |
autoimmune disease causing patchy skin depigmentation |
| vulgaris |
common (e.g. acne vulgaris); something that everyone has |
| xanthoderma |
yellow skin |
| xanthoma |
yellow raised bumps due to fat accumulation under the skin |
| xanthosis |
yellow discoloration of degenerating tissues |
| xenograft |
a skin tissue donation from another species (same as heterograft) |
| xeroderma |
dry skin |
| xerosis |
dry skin |
