seborrheic keratosis
- noun
- /ˌsɛbəˈriːɪk kəˈreɪtəʊsɪs/
- Specialized
- My dermatologist identified the dark patch as a seborrheic keratosis and said it was harmless.
Examples
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The seborrheic keratosis on her back was removed for cosmetic reasons.
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Patients with seborrheic keratosis often notice the lesions increasing with age.
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The doctor diagnosed her with seborrheic keratosis.
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Many people develop seborrheic keratoses as they age.
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My dermatologist identified the dark patch as a seborrheic keratosis and said it was harmless.
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Patients with seborrheic keratosis often notice the lesions increasing with age.
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The seborrheic keratosis on her back was removed for cosmetic reasons.
Synonyms
A rough, thick patch on the skin where the outer layer grows too much
How Noticeable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term is compositional: 'seborrheic' means related to excess sebum and 'keratosis' means an overgrowth of the outer skin layer, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer a sebum-related skin overgrowth. Although technical/medical, the adjective+noun formation is regular and cross-linguistically transparent, so the overall meaning is derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Seborrheic keratosis comes from old medical words: seborrheic points to 'oil' and keratosis means a 'horn' or hard skin growth. So the name gives a picture of greasy, wart-like patches that look like small hard bumps and are usually harmless.