Papule
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A papule is a circumscribed, solid elevation of skin with no visible fluid, varying in size from a pinhead to 1 cm.[1][nb 1] They can be either brown, purple, pink or red in colour. The papules may open when scratched and become infected and crusty.[2]
Papules may have different shapes and are sometimes associated with other features such as crusts or scales.
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[edit] Diseases of the skin that develop papules
There are many skin diseases which develop papules such as Lichen planus, a skin disease which classically forms polygonal, purple papules.[citation needed]
[edit] Origin
The word "papule" is derived from the Latin word "papula".[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ With regard to the quote "...varying in size from a pinhead to 1cm," depending on which text is referenced, some authors state the cutoff between a papule and a plaque as 0.5cm, not 1cm, while others state an entirely different measurement. Therefore, for this article, the 1cm cutoff is used which is discussed in Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology (see references), a work considered by some dermatologists as an authority on this subject matter. See Lack of Standardization for complete discussion.
[edit] References
- ^ James, William; Berger, Timothy; Elston, Dirk (2005) Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology (10th ed.). Saunders. Page 15. ISBN 0-7216-2921-0.
- ^ "papule" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
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