cicatrix
Americannoun
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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 term catarrhal pock, however, is not vitiated by an extension of the morbid process deep enough to produce a permanent cicatrix, and it is probable that in most cases the catarrhal type predominates.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
Epithelioma of the scalp may originate in relation to a wart, an ulcerated wen or sebaceous adenoma, or the cicatrix of a burn.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander
The sound was then removed, and a short bougie inserted, so as to pass beyond the cicatrix.
From North American Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3, July, 1826 by Bache, Franklin
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 Darwin, Charles
But despite all her visible cicatrices, her internal scars are worse.
From Newsweek ● Oct. 22, 2012
Legs nearly clear: they have many cicatrices, especially on the shin and outer part.
From North American Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3, July, 1826 by Bache, Franklin
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
Tuberculosis, lues, scarlet fever, diphtheria, enteric fever and pyogenic conditions may produce ulceration followed by cicatrices of the esophagus.
From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Jackson, Chevalier
Spasmodic stenosis with its consequent esophagitis and erosions, and, later, secondary pyogenic infection, may result in serious cicatrices.
From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Jackson, Chevalier
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.
