Keloid

Keloid: A tough heaped-up scar that rises quite abruptly above the rest of the skin. It is irregularly shaped and tends to enlarge progressively. Keloids are due to an excessive response to trauma such as a cut to the skin. In creating a normal scar, connective tissue in the skin is repaired by the formation of collagen. This occurs in the dermis (the layer of skin just below the epidermis, the outer layer of skin). Keloids arise when there is too much collagen formed in the dermis during the repair of connective tissue. Keloids do not form in the majority of people. A person must be susceptible to develop keloids. This susceptibility is clearly genetic (inherited). For instance, the dermatologist David Bloom described cases in 5 successive generations within a single family. Afro-Americans and some African peoples are predisposed to keloid formation. Molecular genetic techniques have been applied to the analysis of keloids. The dense tumorlike scar was called a "keloid" ("chΘlo∩de" in French) in 1835 by the dermatologist Jean-Louis Albert. However, the word "keloid" was already in use in France as early as 1817, according to the Nouveau Petit Robert Dictionaire. The origin of the term "keloid" is not entirely certain. The Petit Robert attributes it to the Greek word "chele" meaning in French "pince" and in English "a talon, claw, or hoof." Other authorites such as Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary attribute "keloid" to the Greek " kelis", "blemish" or to the Greek "kele", "a rupture."