Meaning & use
ecchymosis
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Meaning
nouncountablemedical
A flat patch of purple, blue or yellowish skin caused by blood leaking from small vessels beneath the surface, usually after an injury.
Grammar: Plural is ecchymoses: several ecchymoses on the arm.
Patterns
- ecchymosis on something
- ecchymosis around something
The nurse noted a large ecchymosis on the patient's left thigh.
Ecchymosis around the eye appeared two days after the fall.
The doctor asked about any unexplained ecchymosis on the arms.
Word forms
| plural | ecchymoses |
|---|
Common combinations
- periorbital ecchymosis
- Periorbital ecchymosis is the medical name for a black eye.
- extensive ecchymosis
- The chart noted extensive ecchymosis across the abdomen.
- ecchymosis and swelling
- The injury caused ecchymosis and swelling at the ankle.
- signs of ecchymosis
- Look for signs of ecchymosis after the injection.
- ecchymosis around the eye
- The doctor noticed ecchymosis around the eye.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bruise
- Bruise is the everyday word, while ecchymosis is the clinical term for a flat bruise.
- contusion
- Contusion is another medical word for a bruise, but it stresses the injury to tissue, while ecchymosis stresses the skin discoloration.
- hematoma
- A hematoma is a raised collection of blood, whereas an ecchymosis is flat.
- black-and-blue mark
- Black-and-blue mark is a casual description with no medical precision.
Word family
- ecchymoses noun
- plural of ecchymosis
- ecchymotic adjective
- relating to ecchymosis
- bruise noun
- the everyday word for the same thing
Commonly confused: ecchymosis or petechia? ecchymosis or hematoma?
ecchymosis vs petechia
Petechiae are tiny pinpoint red spots under the skin, while ecchymosis is a larger flat patch.
ecchymosis vs hematoma
A hematoma is a swollen pool of blood, while ecchymosis is flat discoloration.
Practice
In a medical report, a flat purple patch of skin after a fall would be called ___.
Choose one answer.
Ecchymosis is the clinical word for a bruise. Dermatitis is a skin inflammation, a different problem.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ecchymosis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.