Question | Answer |
often the initial lesion before the patient or nature has had the chance to change it (by scratching, medication, etc.) | Primary lesions |
often the "modifications" of the primary lesion | Secondary lesions |
flat, non-palpable, <1 cm circumscribed discoloration (solar lentigo) | macule |
a macule >lcm (vitiligo) | patch |
solid, elevated lesion <lcm (milium) | papule |
a papule> lcm (psoriasis) | plaque |
a palpable, solid, round or ellipsoidal lesion with increased dermal involvement; depth differentiates this from a papule (dermatofibroma) | nodule |
general term for any mass; indicates a large nodule (lipoma) | tumor |
circumscribed, elevated, pus-containing lesion (acne) | pustule |
elevated, fluid-containing lesion up to lcm (herpes) | vesicle |
a vesicle> lcm (bullous pemphigoid) | bulla |
solid, elevated, rounded or flat-topped lesion form by local, superficial, transient edema (hives/urticaria) | wheal |
plug of sebum and keratin in a pilosebaceous (hair) follicle (acne) | comedo or blackhead |
linear lesion produced by an intracutaneous animal or parasite (scabies) | burrow |
accumulation of stratum corneum in perceptible flakes | scale |
hardened deposits when serum, blood or purulent exudate dries on skin surface; characteristic of bacterial, infections | crusts |
loss of epidermis and part of dermis; heals with scarring | ulcer |
thickened skin with exaggerated skin lines often produced by rubbing | lichenification |
linear cleavage or cracks in the skin | fissure |
loss of part of the epidermis; heals without scarring | erosion |
connective tissue repair after dermal injury | scar |
superficial punctate and linear loss of epidermis from scratching | excoriation |
color due to melanin deposition | pigmentation |
decrease in amount of cells in the epidermis and/or dermis with resultant thinning | atrophy |
ring shaped, implies area of central clearing | annular |
circular or round | circinate |
disc-shaped | discoid |
snake like | serpiginous |
bull's eye-like | targetoid |
confluent/coalescing | lesions run together |
discrete | lesions remain separate |
generalized | widespread eruption |
grouped | lesions cluster together |
grouped vesicles, particularly in case of herpes infections | herpetiform |
lesions in lines | linear |
entire skin affected | universal |
linear arrangement along a nerve/dermatome | zosteriform |
implies redness from vascular dilation | erythematous |
decreased pigmentation | hypopigmented |
increased pigmentation, of brown in color | hyperpigmented |
violaceous | purple |
melanotic | black |
painful, fluctuant soft-tissue swelling | abcess |
sack that contains a semisolid substance or fluid | cyst |
punctate bleeding into the skin | petechiae |
bleeding into the skin | pupura |
permanent dilation of superficial vessels | telangiectasia |
verrucous/vegetative | rough, warty |