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seborrheic keratosis

seborrheic keratosis

9.4
A harmless wart-like skin growth with a greasy surface that may itch
  • noun
  • /ˌsɛbəˈriːɪk kəˈreɪtəʊsɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : queratosis seborréica
  • My dermatologist identified the dark patch as a seborrheic keratosis and said it was harmless.

Examples

  • The seborrheic keratosis on her back was removed for cosmetic reasons.

  • Patients with seborrheic keratosis often notice the lesions increasing with age.

  • The doctor diagnosed her with seborrheic keratosis.

  • Many people develop seborrheic keratoses as they age.

  • My dermatologist identified the dark patch as a seborrheic keratosis and said it was harmless.

  • Patients with seborrheic keratosis often notice the lesions increasing with age.

  • The seborrheic keratosis on her back was removed for cosmetic reasons.

Synonyms

keratosis
vsseborrheic keratosis
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A rough, thick patch on the skin where the outer layer grows too much

is a specific benign growth with wart like greasy surface often causing itch

How Noticeable

enlarged
1 3.1
seborrheic keratosis
  • Specialized
9.4
birthmark
43 1.3
spot
297 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

seborrheic + keratosis

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.