Callus in the context of "Corn (medicine)"

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⭐ Core Definition: Callus

A callus (pl.: calluses) is an area of thickened and sometimes hardened skin that forms as a response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Since repeated contact is required, calluses are most often found on the feet and hands, but they may occur anywhere on the skin. Some degree of callus, such as on the bottom of the foot, is normal.

Calluses are generally not harmful and help prevent blisters, as well as offering protection. However, excessive formation may sometimes lead to other problems, such as a skin ulceration or infection, or cause the affected person to try to offload the affected painful area, which can place excessive stress on the asymptomatic side.

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👉 Callus in the context of Corn (medicine)

A corn or clavus (plural clavi or clavuses) is an often painful, cone-shaped, inwardly directed callus of dead skin that forms at a pressure point near a bone, or on a weight-bearing part of the body. When on the feet, corns can be so painful as to interfere with walking. The visible portion of the corn tends to be more or less round, but corns are defined by having a hard tapering root that is directed inward, and pressure on the corn pushes this root deeper into the flesh (thus the Latin term clavus meaning "nail"). Pressure corns usually occur on thin or glabrous (hairless and smooth) skin surfaces, especially on the dorsal surface of toes or fingers, but corns triggered by an acute injury (such as a thorn) may occur on the thicker skin of the palms (palmar corns) or bottom of the feet (plantar corns).

Pressure corns form when chronic pressure on the skin against an underlying bone traces a usually elliptical path during the rubbing motion. The corn forms at the center of the pressure point and gradually widens and deepens.

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In this Dossier

Callus in the context of Callosity

A callosity is a type of callus, a piece of skin that has become thickened as a result of repeated contact and friction.

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Callus in the context of Capra (genus)

Capra is a genus of mammals, the goats, comprising ten species, including the markhor and several species known as ibexes. The domestic goat (Capra hircus) is a domesticated species derived from the bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus aegagrus). It is one of the oldest domesticated species of animal—according to archaeological evidence its earliest domestication occurred in Iran at 10,000 calibrated calendar years ago.

Wild goats are animals of mountain habitats. They are very agile and hardy, able to climb on bare rock and survive on sparse vegetation. They can be distinguished from the genus Ovis, which includes sheep, by the presence of scent glands close to the feet, in the groin, and in front of the eyes, and the absence of other facial glands, and by the presence of a beard in some specimens, and of hairless calluses on the knees of the forelegs.

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Callus in the context of Microtrauma

Microtrauma is any of many possible small injuries to the body.

Microtrauma can include the microtearing of muscle fibres, the sheath around the muscle and the connective tissue. It can also include stress to the tendons, and to the bones (see Wolff's law). It is unknown whether or not the ligaments adapt like this. Microtrauma to the skin (compression, impact, abrasion) can also cause increases in a skin's thickness, as seen from the calluses formed from running barefoot or the hand calluses that result from rock climbing. This might be due to increased skin cell replication at sites under stress where cells rapidly slough off or undergo compression or abrasion.

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Callus in the context of Debridement

Debridement is the medical removal of dead, damaged, or infected tissue to improve the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue. Removal may be surgical, mechanical, chemical, autolytic (self-digestion), or by maggot therapy.

In podiatry, practitioners such as chiropodists, podiatrists and foot health practitioners remove conditions such as calluses and verrucas.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Callosity ← Capra (genus) ← Microtrauma ← Debridement ← Corn (medicine)
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Blister → Ulcer (dermatology) →