Module 4: Skin, Hair, and Nails Assessment

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering developmental variations, skin color changes, primary and secondary lesions, objective physical assessment findings, and nail abnormalities from the skin, hair, and nails lecture.

Langoo

A fine, downy hair resembling soft velvet that covers most of the fetal skin beginning at about $3\,\text{months}$ gestation and is replaced with fine hair after birth.

Vernix

A thick, cheesy, protective substance made of sebum and epithelial cells present at birth that helps determine gestational age.

Lineage Nigra

A brownish-black line that appears down the midline of the abdomen during pregnancy due to hormone-induced pigmentation changes.

Cholimasma

Known as the mask of pregnancy; irregular brown patches that appear on the face (especially the cheeks and nose) during pregnancy or with oral contraceptive use.

Stratocorneum

The outer layer of the epidermis that thins and flattens during aging, increasing permeability and allowing chemicals access into the body.

Alcohol Flush Syndrome

A genetic condition prevalent in individuals of Indigenous and Asian descent who lack aldehyde dehydrogenase 2, resulting in facial flushing, a heat sensation, splotchy redness of the neck and chest, tachycardia, nausea, and accelerated intoxication upon consuming alcohol.

Pallor

A loss of pink or red tones causing the skin to appear white, yellow-dull, or ashen due to severe vasoconstriction and reduced oxygenated hemoglobin.

Erythema

Intense redness of the skin caused by dilation of superficial capillaries, often associated with fever, local inflammation, blushing, or superficial burns.

Modeling

A marbling discoloration of blue, red, and dark tones on the skin that indicates a state of hypoperfusion and impaired blood flow.

Cyanosis

A dusky blue or dull discoloration of the skin, nail beds, or mucous membranes caused by decreased oxygenation and tissue perfusion.

Jaundice

A yellowish discoloration of the skin, sclera, and mucous membranes resulting from elevated levels of bilirubin in the blood.

Diaphoresis

Profuse perspiration; in infants younger than $1\,\text{month}$ old, it can indicate a significant medical event such as hypoglycemia, heart disease, or a thyroid issue.

Skin Turgor

The skin's ability to return flat promptly after being pinched, commonly tested on the back of the hand or under the clavicle to assess hydration status.

Cherry Angiomas

Small, smooth, slightly raised, bright red dots that commonly appear on the trunk in individuals after age $30$ and increase with aging.

Pitting Edema

Fluid accumulation in intercellular spaces that leaves a persistent indentation or dent when pressed against a bony structure such as the tibia.

ABCDE Rule

A screening criteria for suspicious moles evaluating Asymmetry, Border irregularity, Color variation, Diameter, and Elevation or Enlargement.

Annular Lesion

A circular skin lesion that begins in the center and spreads outward to the periphery, such as ringworm.

Confluent Lesions

Skin lesions that run together and merge into larger areas, such as hives.

Zosteriform Lesion

A linear lesion pattern that follows along a unilateral nerve root or dermatome, characteristic of shingles.

Macule

A flat, circumscribed area of skin color change measuring less than $1\,\text{cm}$ in diameter.

Patch

A flat area of skin color change measuring greater than $1\,\text{cm}$ in diameter.

Papule

A solid, elevated skin lesion that can be felt, measuring up to $1\,\text{cm}$ in diameter.

Plaque

A disc-shaped, solid, elevated lesion surface wider than $1\,\text{cm}$, characteristic of psoriasis.

Nodule

A solid, elevated, hard lesion greater than $1\,\text{cm}$ in diameter that can extend deep into the dermis.

Wheal

A superficial, raised, transient lesion with an irregular shape, such as a mosquito bite.

Urticaria

An extensive skin reaction composed of multiple wheals grouped together, commonly referred to as hives.

Vesicle

An elevated, fluid-filled blister measuring up to $1\,\text{cm}$ in diameter, such as chickenpox.

Cyst

An encapsulated, fluid-filled cavity situated in the dermis or subcutaneous layer.

Pustule

A circumscribed and elevated cavity filled with pus, such as impetigo.

Fissure

A linear crack with abrupt edges extending into the dermis, which can be dry or moist.

Erosion

A scooped-out, shallow depression involving epidermal loss that is moist without bleeding and heals without a scar.

Ulcer

A deeper depression extending into the dermis that is irregular in shape, may bleed, and typically leaves a scar upon healing.

Excoriation

A superficial, often crusted abrasion typically caused by self-inflicted scratching from conditions such as scabies.

Clubbing

A deformity where the nail base angle straightens to $160^\circ$ or greater and the nails become bulbous, signaling chronic respiratory or cardiac disease.

Capillary Refill

A test of peripheral circulation performed by compressing the nail bed until it blanches and measuring the duration until normal color returns, which is typically within $2\,\text{seconds}$.

Congenital Dermal Melanocytosis

Also called a Mongolian spot; a common hyperpigmentation variation appearing as a blue-black to purplish area on the sacrum or buttocks of Indigenous, Black, East Indian, and Hispanic infants.

Café au Lait Spot

A large round or oval patch of light brown pigmentation; the presence of six or more measuring over $1.5\,\text{cm}$ is suggestive of neurofibromatosis.

Harlequin Color Change

A transient newborn color change occurring in a side-lying position where the lower half of the body turns red while the upper half blanches, separated by a distinct midline demarcation.

Acrocyanosis

A temporary cyanotic state in newborns characterized by a bluish color around the lips, hands, nail beds, feet, and toenails after birth, which resolves with warming.

Curtis Marmota

A transient, lacy or marbled reticulated pattern of the skin on an infant's trunk and extremities that appears in response to cooler ambient temperatures.

Milia

Tiny white papules on the face of newborns caused by sebum trapped in blocked follicle openings.

Nervous Simplex

Otherwise known as a stork bite; a flat, irregularly shaped red or pink vascular patch on the forehead or upper eyebrow present at birth that typically fades within the first year.

Pattern Injury

A bruise or wound whose distinct shape suggests the specific instrument or weapon used, such as bite marks, cigarette burns, or belt buckle marks.