elastosis
[e″las-to´sis] 1. degeneration of elastic tissue.
2. degenerative changes in the dermal connective tissue with increased amounts of elastotic material.
3. any disturbance of the dermal connective tissue.
actinic elastosis premature aging of the skin due to prolonged exposure to sunlight, seen especially in light-skinned persons, characterized by inelasticity, thinning or sometimes thickening, wrinkling, dryness with fine scaling, and variable hyperpigmentation, often with development of cherry angiomas, telangiectasis, senile lentigines, ecchymosis, milia, and senile keratosis. Called also
senile or
solar elastosis.
nodular elastosis of Favre and Racouchot a type of
actinic elastosis seen chiefly in elderly men, in which giant comedones, pilosebaceous cysts, and large folds of furrowed and yellowish skin are seen in the periorbital region; called also
nodular elastoidosis.
elastosis perfo´rans serpigino´sa (
perforating elastosis) an elastic tissue defect, occurring alone or in association with other disorders, including
Down's syndrome and
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, in which elastomas are extruded through small keratotic papules in the epidermis; the lesions are usually arranged in arc-shaped, continuous clusters on the sides of the nape, face, or arms.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.