Hirsutism is excessive body hair on parts of the body where hair is normally absent or minimal. The word is from early 17th century: from Latin hirsutus meaning "hairy". It usually refers to a male pattern of hair growth in a female that may be a sign of a more serious medical condition, especially if it develops well after puberty. Cultural stigma against hirsutism can cause much psychological distress and social difficulty. Discrimination based on facial hirsutism often leads to the avoidance of social situations and to symptoms of anxiety and depression.
An eyelash is one of the hairs that grows at the edges of the top and bottom eyelids, spanning outwards and away from the eyes. The lashes grow in up to six layers on each of the upper and lower eyelids. Eyelashes serve to protect the eye from debris, dust, and small particles, and are highly sensitive to touch, thus providing a warning that an object is near the eye. The eyelid margin from which lashes grow is among the most sensitive parts of the human body, with many nerve endings enveloping the roots of the lashes, giving it sensitivity to very light tactile input even at the tips of the lashes, enabling it to trigger the blink reflex when touched. Eyelashes are also an important component of physical attractiveness, with prominent lashes drawing attention to the eyes.
Cold urticaria is a disorder in which large red welts called hives (urticaria) form on the skin after exposure to a cold stimulus. The hives are usually itchy and often the hands and feet will become itchy and swollen as well. Hives vary in size from about 7 mm in diameter to as big as about 27 mm or larger.
A diagnosis of exclusion or by exclusion is a diagnosis of a medical condition reached by a process of elimination, which may be necessary if presence cannot be established with complete confidence from history, examination or testing. Such elimination of other reasonable possibilities is a major component in performing a differential diagnosis.
Lymphedema–distichiasis syndrome is a medical condition associated with the FOXC2 gene. People with this hereditary condition have a double row of eyelashes, which is called distichiasis, and a risk of swollen limbs due to problems in the lymphatic system.
Polycoria is a pathological condition of the eye characterized by more than one pupillary opening in the iris. It may be congenital or result from a disease affecting the iris. It results in decreased function of the iris and pupil, affecting the physical eye and visualization.
Hay–Wells syndrome is one of at least 150 known types of ectodermal dysplasia. These disorders affect tissues that arise from the ectodermal germ layer, such as skin, hair, and nails.
White piedra is a mycosis of the hair caused by several species of fungi in the genus Trichosporon. It is characterized by soft nodules composed of yeast cells and arthroconidia that encompass hair shafts.
Pili torti is characterized by short and brittle hairs that appear flattened and twisted when viewed through a microscope.
Madarosis is a condition that results in the loss of eyelashes, and sometimes eyebrows. The term "madarosis" is derived from the ancient Greek "madaros", meaning "bald". It originally was a disease of only losing eyelashes but it currently is the loss of both eyelashes and eyebrows. Eyebrows and eyelashes are both important in the prevention of bacteria and other foreign objects from entering the eye. A majority of patients with madarosis have leprosy, and it was reported that 76% of patients with varying types of leprosy had madarosis.
Loose anagen syndrome, also known as loose anagen hair syndrome, is a hair disorder related to dermatology. It is characterised by the easy and pain free detachment of anagen staged hairs from the scalp. This hair condition can be spontaneous or genetically inherited.
Anetoderma is a benign but uncommon disorder that causes localized areas of flaccid or herniated sac-like skin due to a focal reduction of dermal elastic tissue. Anetoderma is subclassified as primary anetoderma, secondary anetoderma, iatrogenic anetoderma of prematurity, congenital anetoderma, familial anetoderma, and drug-induced anetoderma.
Pressure alopecia, also known as postoperative alopecia, and pressure-induced alopecia, occurs in adults after prolonged pressure on the scalp during general anesthesia, with the head fixed in one position, and may also occur in chronically ill persons after prolonged bed rest in one position that causes persistent pressure on one part of the scalp, all likely due to pressure-induced ischemia.
Keratosis pilaris atropicans is a group of idiopathic genodermatoses that consists of three unique clinical entities: atrophoderma vermiculatum, keratosis follicularis spinulosa decalvans, and keratosis pilaris atrophicans faciei.
Trichostasis spinulosa is a common but rarely diagnosed disorder of the hair follicles that clinically gives the impression of blackheads, but the follicles are filled with funnel-shaped, horny plugs that are bundles of vellus hairs.
Graham-Little syndrome or Graham Little-Piccardi-Lassueur syndrome is a cutaneous condition characterized by lichen planus-like skin lesions. It is named after Ernest Graham-Little.
Persistent fetal vasculature(PFV), also known as persistent fetal vasculature syndrome (PFVS), and until 1997 known primarily as persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV), is a rare congenital anomaly which occurs when blood vessels within the developing eye, known as the embryonic hyaloid vasculature network, fail to regress as they normally would in-utero after the eye is fully developed. Defects which arise from this lack of vascular regression are diverse; as a result, the presentation, symptoms, and prognosis of affected patients vary widely, ranging from clinical insignificance to irreversible blindness. The underlying structural causes of PFV are considered to be relatively common, and the vast majority of cases do not warrant additional intervention. When symptoms do manifest, however, they are often significant, causing detrimental and irreversible visual impairment. Persistent fetal vasculature heightens the lifelong risk of glaucoma, cataracts, intraocular hemorrhages, and Retinal detachments, accounting for the visual loss of nearly 5% of the blind community in the developed world. In diagnosed cases of PFV, approximately 90% of patients with a unilateral disease have associated poor vision in the affected eye.
Canities subita, also called Marie Antoinette syndrome or Thomas More syndrome, is an alleged condition of hair turning white overnight due to stress or trauma. The trivial names come from specific cases in history including that of Queen Marie Antoinette of France whose hair was noted as having turned stark white overnight after her capture following the ill-fated flight to Varennes during the French Revolution. An older case of Sir Thomas More's hair turning white the night before his beheading has also been recorded. Although a number of cases of rapid hair greying have been documented, the underlying patho-physiological changes have not been sufficiently studied.
Premature greying of hair (PGH), also known as canities, can have negative effects on appearance, self-confidence, self-esteem, and social acceptance of the affected individual. Hair is said to have greyed prematurely if it occurs before the age of 20 years in Europeans, before 25 years in Asians, and before 30 years in Africans.
Frictional alopecia is the loss of hair that is caused by rubbing of the hair, follicles, or skin around the follicle. The most typical example of this is the loss of ankle hair among people who wear socks constantly for years. The hair may not grow back even years after the source of friction has ended.
