petechia

American  

[pi-tee-kee-uh, -tek-ee-uh] / pɪˈti ki ə, -ˈtɛk i ə /

noun

Pathology.

• petechiae
  plural

1. a minute, round, nonraised hemorrhage in the skin or in a mucous or serous membrane.

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petechia British  

/ pɪˈtiːkɪə /

noun

1. a minute discoloured spot on the surface of the skin or mucous membrane, caused by an underlying ruptured blood vessel

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• petechial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• petechiae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of petechia

1575–85; < New Latin < Italian petecchia (in plural) rash, spots on skin < Vulgar Latin *( im ) petīcula, equivalent to Latin impetīc-, stem of impetīx, variant of impetīgō impetigo + -ula -ule

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

petechiae

But Strack said detectives commonly failed to document physical signs that the crime occurred, such as petechiae or drooping eyelids, which might support the felony charge.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 4, 2023

The specks, he learned, were called petechiae, from a 17th-century Italian word for freckles.

From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2022

In the autopsy report, Denton identified light blanching on the tip of Jayden's nose and tiny dots on his eyelids, cheeks and elsewhere — burst blood vessels called petechiae.

From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2022

But in August 2020, before her freshman year, Lam noticed spots popping up on her skin, called petechiae.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2022

The skin develops red spots, called petechiae, which are hemorrhages under the skin.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston