scleroderma

American  

[skleer-uh-dur-muh, skler-] / ˌsklɪər əˈdɜr mə, ˌsklɛr- /

noun

Pathology.

1. a disease in which connective tissue anywhere in the body becomes hardened and rigid.

---

scleroderma British  

/ ˌsklɪərəʊˈdɜːmə, sklɪˈraɪəsɪs, ˌsklɪərəʊˈdɜːmɪə /

noun

1. a chronic progressive disease most common among women, characterized by a local or diffuse thickening and hardening of the skin

---

scleroderma Scientific  

/ sklîr′ə-dûr′mə /

1. A connective tissue disease characterized by the deposition of fibrous tissue into the skin and often other organs, causing tissue hardening and thickening.

---

Etymology

Origin of scleroderma

First recorded in 1865–70; sclero- + -derma

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scleroderma

To complicate matters, Klee, in 1935, began to suffer from the then‑fatal autoimmune disease scleroderma, which hardens and tightens the skin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Autoimmune diseases, which range from rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease to scleroderma and numerous thyroid conditions, stem from attacks by the immune system on the body's own cells that destroy normal, healthy tissue.

From Science Daily ● May 23, 2024

Others lost theirs to medical conditions such as sepsis or scleroderma.

From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2022

Mrs. LePage’s mother had scleroderma, a chronic disease that causes hardening of the skin.

From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2022

Although regarded by many as a disease distinct from scleroderma, morphea is best described as a circumscribed scleroderma, and presents itself in two clinical aspects: patches and bands, the patches being the more common.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)