Name	Description
🌸 Dermatosis	Any cutaneous lesion or group of lesions. A nonspecific umbrella term for skin disease.
🔥 Dermatitis (Eczema)	Inflammation of the skin. Eczema often used interchangeably with atopic dermatitis.
🤧 Pruritus	Itching of the skin.
🔴 Erythema	Redness due to vascular congestion or increased perfusion.
⚪ Macule	Flat, circumscribed change in skin colour without elevation/depression. >2 cm = patch. Examples: Café-au-lait spots, Mongolian spot, freckles.
🔵 Papule	Solid, elevated lesion ≤0.5 cm. May arise from deposits, infiltrates, or cellular hyperplasia. Papulosquamous lesions = papules with scaling.
🔘 Nodule	Larger, deeper papule, usually >0.5 cm, located in dermis, subcutaneous tissue, or epidermis. Examples: Xanthoma, metastatic deposits.
🟪 Plaque	Flat-topped, elevated lesion ≥2 cm. Often formed by coalescence of papules. Surface area > height.
💭 Wheal	Transient, raised, edematous lesion (urticarial). Often erythematous and itchy. Size varies from mm → cm. Seen in hives.
💧 Vesicle / Bulla	Clear fluid-filled lesions. Vesicle: ≤0.5 cm. Bulla: >0.5 cm. Superficial = flaccid. Example: herpes (vesicles), bullous pemphigoid (bullae).
🟡 Pustule	Elevated lesion filled with purulent fluid (white, yellow, or green). Example: acne pustules.
🩸 Abscess	Localized pus collection within tissue cavity, often with necrosis.
🎈 Cyst	Closed sac containing liquid or semisolid material. Usually resilient on palpation.
📉 Atrophy	Thinning of epidermis/dermis → depressed skin. Example: striae (“stretch marks”).
🪨 Sclerosis	Diffuse or circumscribed hardening of skin due to dermal/subcutaneous induration.
⬇️ Erosion	Loss of epidermis only.
⚠️ Ulcer	Loss of epidermis + dermis (may extend deeper). If due to scratching → “excoriation”.
〰️ Fissure	Linear cleavage in skin surface (variant of erosion/ulcer). Example: heel fissures.
🌿 Desquamation	Scaling/exfoliation of the stratum corneum.
➕ Scar	Fibrous tissue after ulceration. May be hypertrophic, atrophic, or cribriform (pitted).
🩹 Crust (“Scab”)	Dried serum, pus, or blood. Yellow = serum, green = purulent, brown/red = blood. Hallmark of pyogenic infection.
🪵 Lichenification	Chronic epidermal thickening with exaggerated skin markings, often from scratching/rubbing.

📚 References

The content on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only to support exam preparation (e.g., MLA, MRCP, USMLE) and learning. This is NOT medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional guidance. It does not replace consultation with a qualified healthcare professional, official guidelines (e.g., NICE, GMC, BNF), or supervised clinical practice. Always verify information with current, authoritative sources. Makindo and its contributors accept no liability for any reliance on this content, including errors, omissions, or any resulting harm, loss, or consequences. By using this site, you agree to these terms.

Dermatology terms

📚 References

Categories