Meaning & use
panniculitis
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Meaning
noununcountablemedicaltechnical
An inflammation of the layer of fat just under the skin, often producing tender lumps or red patches.
Grammar: Used without an article for the condition: she was diagnosed with panniculitis.
Patterns
- panniculitis of something
- panniculitis in someone
She was diagnosed with panniculitis after tender red lumps appeared on her shins.
Panniculitis can be a reaction to infection, injury or an underlying disease.
The biopsy confirmed panniculitis in the fatty tissue of his thigh.
Common combinations
- diagnose panniculitis
- A skin biopsy helps doctors diagnose panniculitis.
- lobular panniculitis
- Lobular panniculitis affects the small sections of fat.
- septal panniculitis
- Septal panniculitis involves the walls between fat lobules.
- treat panniculitis
- Doctors may treat panniculitis with anti-inflammatory drugs.
- panniculitis of the leg
- The patient had panniculitis of the leg for several weeks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fat inflammation
- Fat inflammation is a plain-language description, whereas panniculitis is the precise medical term used by clinicians.
- erythema nodosum
- Erythema nodosum is the most common specific type, so it is narrower than the broad term panniculitis.
Word family
- panniculus noun
- a sheet of tissue, especially the fatty layer beneath the skin
- panniculitic adjective
- relating to panniculitis
- -itis suffix
- an ending meaning inflammation
- cellulitis noun
- a bacterial infection of the skin and tissue below
Commonly confused: panniculitis or cellulitis?
panniculitis vs cellulitis
Cellulitis is a bacterial skin infection, while panniculitis is inflammation of the fat layer and is often not caused by infection.
Practice
Panniculitis is inflammation of which part of the body?
Choose one answer.
Panniculus refers to the fatty layer under the skin, and -itis means inflammation. The other options name different conditions such as gastritis or meningitis.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “panniculitis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.