keratosis

American  

[ker-uh-toh-sis] / ˌkɛr əˈtoʊ sɪs /

noun

Pathology.

plural

keratoses

1. any horny growth of keratin on the skin, as a wart.

2. any horny growth of keratin elsewhere, as on the tonsils.

---

keratosis British  

/ ˌkɛrəˈtəʊsɪs /

noun

1. any skin condition marked by a horny growth, such as a wart

2. a horny growth

---

Other Word Forms

• keratosic adjective
• keratotic adjective

Etymology

Origin of keratosis

First recorded in 1880–85; kerat- + -osis

Example Sentences

O’Conner said in a memo released by the White House that a biopsy showed that the legion was seborrheic keratosis, a “very common, totally harmless, non-cancerous growth.”

From Seattle Times • Jan. 18, 2023

“It’s a noncancerous seborrheic keratosis, but our guy has to wait six weeks for a doctor’s appointment and spends that time moping around, wishing he’d stopped to smell the roses more often.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 20, 2022

For conditions like keratosis pilaris—which consist of “plugs” of cells in hair follicles, often on the upper arms and thighs—exfoliation is key here, too.

From Slate • Jul. 24, 2018

They’re called unflattering names: age spots, barnacles or, God help us, senile warts, but physicians know them as seborrheic keratosis lesions, or SK lesions, for short.

From New York Times • Jan. 23, 2018

How would you distinguish the small-papular syphiloderm from keratosis pilaris, psoriasis punctata, papular eczema, and lichen ruber?

From Essentials of Diseases of the Skin Including the Syphilodermata Arranged in the Form of Questions and Answers Prepared Especially for Students of Medicine by Stelwagon, Henry Weightman