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November 8, 2009
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 Skin Biopsy Main Article |  Glossary |  Skin Biopsy Index 

Skin Biopsy Glossary of Terms

The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Skin Biopsy article.

Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer ).
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Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for purposes of diagnosis. (Many definitions of "biopsy" stipulate that the sample of tissue is removed for examination under a microscope. This may or may not be the case. The diagnosis may be achieved by other means such as by analysis of chromosomes or genes.)
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Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread).
See the entire definition of Cancer

Condition: The term "condition" has a number of biomedical meanings including the following:

  1. An unhealthy state, such as in "this is a progressive condition."
  2. A state of fitness, such as "getting into condition."
  3. Something that is essential to the occurrence of something else; essentially a "precondition."
  4. As a verb: to cause a change in something so that a response that was previously associated with a certain stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus; to condition a person, as in behavioral conditioning.

Dermatologist: A doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of skin problems.

Excisional: Pertaining to the act of excision, of removal by surgery. An excisional biopsy is one in which the lesion is removed by the biopsy. From the Greek ektome meaning excision.

Immune: Protected against infection. The Latin immunis means free, exempt.

Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures and preparing chemicals, etc. Although "laboratory" looks very like the Latin "laboratorium" (a place to labor, a work place), the word "laboratory" came from the Latin "elaborare" (to work out, as a problem, and with great pains), as evidenced by the Old English spelling "elaboratory" designating "a place where learned effort was applied to the solution of scientific problems."
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Lesion: Pronounced "lee-sion" with the emphasis on the "lee," a lesion can be almost any abnormality involving any tissue or organ due to any disease or any injury.
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Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects. The name microscope was coined by Johannes Faber (1574-1629) who in 1628 borrowed from the Greek to combined micro-, small with skopein, to view. Although the first microscopes were simple microscopes, most (if not all) optical microscopes today are compound microscopes.

Mole: 1. In dermatology, a pigmented spot on the skin, Also called a nevus. 2. In gynecology, a mass within the uterus formed of partly developed products of conception.
3. In biochemistry, the molecular weight of a substance. In more technical terms, a mole is the number of atoms in exactly 12 g of carbon-12. Mole in this sense is short for molecular weight.

Pathologist: A doctor who identifies diseases by studying cells and tissues under a microscope.

Proteins: Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order determined by the base sequence of nucleotides in the DNA coding for the protein.
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Rash : Breaking out (eruption) of the skin. Medically, a rash is referred to as an exanthem.
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Skin: The skin is the body's outer covering. It protects us against heat and light, injury, and infection. It regulates body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. Weighing about 6 pounds, the skin is the body's largest organ. It is made up of two main layers; the outer epidermis and the inner dermis.


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Skin biopsy: Removal of a piece of skin for the purpose of further examination in the laboratory using a microscope.


See the entire definition of Skin biopsy

Superficial: In anatomy, on the surface or shallow. As opposed to deep. The skin is superficial to the muscles. The cornea is on the superficial surface of the eye.
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 Skin Biopsy Main Article |  Glossary |  Skin Biopsy Index 




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Skin Biopsy

What is lichen sclerosus?

Lichen sclerosus is a long-term problem of the skin. It mostly affects the genital and anal areas. Sometimes, lichen sclerosus appears on the upper body, breasts, and upper arms.

Who gets lichen sclerosus?

Lichen sclerosus appears in:

  • Women (often after menopause)
  • Men (uncommon)
  • Children (rare).

What are the symptoms?

Early in the disease, small white spots appear on the skin. The spots are usually shiny and smooth. Later, the spots grow into bigger patches. The skin on the patches becomes thin and crinkled. Then the skin tears easily, and bright red or purple bruises are common. Sometimes, the skin becomes scarred. If the disease is a mild case, there may be no symptoms.

Other symptoms are:

  • Itching (very common)
  • Discomfort or pain
  • Bleeding
  • Blisters.

...

Read the Lichen Sclerosus article »










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