pilar cyst
- noun
- /ˈpaɪlər sɪst/
- Specialized
:
quiste pilar
- The doctor diagnosed the lump on her scalp as a pilar cyst and recommended removal.
Examples
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After noticing a lump on her scalp, she learned it was a pilar cyst filled with sebum.
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A pilar cyst is usually harmless but can become infected if irritated.
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During surgery, several pilar cysts were found on the patient's scalp.
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A pilar cyst can often be found on the scalp.
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Many people have a pilar cyst at some point in their lives.
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The doctor found a pilar cyst on my scalp during the examination.
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She decided to have the pilar cyst on her head removed for cosmetic reasons.
Synonyms
1
4.2
A small harmless lump under the skin filled with oily material from a blocked gland
1
9.9
A small soft lump under the skin filled with fat
A small lump on the skin that holds oily material from a blocked oil gland
Surface Forms
Morphology
pilar + cyst
The head 'cyst' is fully transparent (an abnormal fluid- or material-filled structure), but 'pilar' is a rare technical form (not found in the provided dictionary) meaning ‘relating to hair’; if a learner knew 'pilar' they could infer this is a hair- or scalp-related cyst. However, the precise clinical details (sebaceous content, gland blockage, typical scalp location) are specialized and not predictable from the parts alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Pilar cyst comes from an old word pilar meaning 'hair', because these lumps usually form where hairs grow on the 'scalp'. They are small sacs of trapped oil at hair roots, so the name links pilar meaning 'hair' to the lump you can feel on the head.