cicatrix
Americannoun
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cicatrices
plural
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Physiology. new tissue that forms over a wound and later contracts into a scar.
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Botany. a scar left by a fallen leaf, seed, etc.
noun
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the tissue that forms in a wound during healing; scar
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a scar on a plant indicating the former point of attachment of a part, esp a leaf
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cicatrix
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: scar
Explanation
A cicatrix is the scar that's left behind on skin after a wound has healed. That raised mark on your hand where you burned yourself on a hot pan a few years ago? That's a cicatrix. You're much more likely to use the word scar, but cicatrix or cicatrice is common medical terminology, so the nurse who bandages your skinned knee is definitely familiar with this term. In Latin, cicatrix means "scar," and it's been used in medicine since the 17th century. Botanists use it too, for scars on tree bark: "You can see the cicatrix where they pruned that big branch, near the top."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She remembers the painful transitions to spring, the sea grapes and the rains, her skin a cicatrix.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
The softened mass is finally absorbed, and the walls of the cyst, or capsule around it, gradually collapse and form a cicatrix.
From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry
The excision and cauterization of the cicatrix, or the cutting of the nerves proceeding from it, has been useful in delaying, or even absolutely preventing, the paroxysms.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
Habitual spasms of the muscles and a cicatrix from a severe burn have permanently modified the facial bones.
From The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Vol. I by Charles Darwin
Even the cicatrix on his scalp was invisible, for his hair was made to cover it.
From In the Van; or, The Builders by John Price-Brown
But despite all her visible cicatrices, her internal scars are worse.
From Newsweek ● Oct. 22, 2012
In most cases the cicatrices are unmistakably conspicuous.
From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Chevalier Jackson
The resulting cicatrices may be recognized by the affected parts of the bowel being thin and more translucent than in health, and may retain these characters after the lapse of several years.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
Still scars remained, and there were times when the blood flowed into these cicatrices so feverishly as to cause pain.
From The Home Mission by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur
Anaplerosis, an′a-plē-rō′sis, n. the filling up of a deficiency, esp. in medicine: the filling up of parts that have been destroyed, as in wounds, cicatrices, &c.—adj.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
