alopecia

/,ælɔ'pi:ʃiə/

Thân thiện

The man looks in the mirror and notices a large patch of alopecia on the side of his head.

Definition

Noun: - Loss of hair (especially on the head) or loss of wool or feathers; in humans it can result from heredity or hormonal imbalance or certain diseases or drugs and treatments (chemotherapy for cancer). It is a medical term for hair loss, which can be partial or complete.

Usage

• General Medical Context: Used to describe the condition of hair loss from any part of the body where hair normally grows, most commonly the scalp.
• Clinical Diagnosis: Used by medical professionals to categorize and discuss specific types of hair loss (e.g., androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata).

Examples

• The patient was diagnosed with alopecia following her chemotherapy treatment.
• Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes patchy hair loss.
• Male-pattern alopecia is a common hereditary condition.

Advanced Usage

• "Alopecia areata": A specific autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks hair follicles, causing hair to fall out in small, round patches.
  • She developed alopecia areata during a period of high stress.
• "Androgenetic alopecia": The most common form of hair loss, often referred to as male-pattern or female-pattern baldness, influenced by genetics and hormones.
  • Androgenetic alopecia affects a significant percentage of the adult population.

Variants and Related Words

• Alopecic (adj): Pertaining to or suffering from alopecia.
  • The doctor noted the alopecic areas on the scalp.

Synonyms

• Baldness: The partial or complete lack of hair growth on the scalp.
• Hair loss: A more general, non-technical term for the condition.

Antonyms

• Hirsutism: Excessive hair growth in areas where it is not typically found.
• Hypertrichosis: An abnormal amount of hair growth over the body.

Notes

• The term alopecia is neutral and clinical. Colloquial terms like "going bald" are more common in everyday speech.
• It encompasses various causes and patterns, from temporary shedding (telogen effluvium) to permanent conditions.

Học thuật

Noun

1. loss of hair (especially on the head) or loss of wool or feathers; in humans it can result from heredity or hormonal imbalance or certain diseases or drugs and treatments (chemotherapy for cancer)