Glossary

AAAHC:  Stands for Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), the leader in ambulatory health care accreditation and advocate for the provision of high quality health care through the development of nationally recognized standards. Dermatology Associates is accredited by AAAHC.

Ablative:  When in reference to cosmetic lasers, ablative lasers remove the outermost layer of skin during treatment.

Acne:  A common skin condition originating from problems in the sebaceous glands; characterized by pimples and comedones, commonly on the face, back, and chest, which in severe cases can result in scarring. 

Actinic Keratosis:  A skin condition that is believed to be a precursor to certain types of skin cancer and is marked by thick, scaly patches of skin that can eventually grow to be bumpy, tough, and wart-like.

Age spots:  Flat, gray, brown or black spots, also called liver spots, that develop with advancing age and are most common in sun exposed areas. 

Angiomas:  A benign growth made up of small blood vessels. Cherry angiomas are known as cherry red moles.

Basal cell carcinoma:  An early stage, easily treatable form of skin cancer that usually appears in the form of raised, smooth, pearly bumps around the head, neck, or shoulder areas – resembling a sore, but failing to heal.

Biopsy:  A medical test involving the excision or removal of cells or tissue for examination and more accurate diagnosis. Biopsy is used in the diagnosis of skin cancer.

Blepharoplasty:  A surgical procedure to remove excess skin, muscle, and fat from the eyelid area.

Café-au-lait birthmarks:  Pigmented birthmarks of irregular and varying shapes and sizes that are light brown in color.

Chemical peel:  A skin care treatment to repair damaged facial skin by application of a chemical solution to remove the damaged outer skin layers.

Collagen:  The main protein in animals and humans; can be isolated and used in facial fillers to smooth out wrinkles and add volume to the lips.

Deep Chemical Peel:  The most severe grade of chemical peel, containing phenol, and used to treat wrinkles, uneven pigmentation, blemishes, sun damaged skin and occasionally pre-cancerous growths on the face.

Dermatology: A specialized field of medicine dealing with the treatment of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails and associated diseases.

Dermatitis:  Inflammation of the skin, otherwise known as a rash.

Dermis:  The layer of skin cells under the epidermis that contains blood vessels, hair follicles, and sweat and sebaceous glands.

Eczema:  A skin disease or inflammation of the epidermis characterized by skin dryness, rashes, redness, swelling, itching, crusting, flaking, blistering, cracking, oozing, or bleeding.

Electrolysis:  A method of hair removal using a needle, which is inserted into the hair follicle and sends a current of electricity into each individual follicle to destroy its growth. Unlike laser hair removal, electrolysis is effective for light and gray colored hair. 

Epidermis:  The outermost layer of cells that make up human skin; made up of squamous cells and basal cells.

Eyelid surgery:  see Blepharoplasty

Facial:  A facial cleansing spa treatment (commonly involving deep pore extractions) that exfoliates and nourishes the face to promote skin health.

Facial fillers:  Also referred to as dermal fillers or injectables, facial fillers are injections of solution (usually containing collagen and/or hyaluronic acid) that is administered into specific areas of the face, most commonly for the treatment of wrinkles and lip augmentation.

Facial rejuvenation:  Refers to procedures and services used to rejuvenate the youthfulness and look of the face, commonly involving wrinkle removing injectables.

Female pattern baldness (FPB): A pattern of baldness found in females and characterized by hair loss or hair thinning in a rectangular pattern at the front of the scalp. Female pattern baldness develops more slowly than male pattern baldness.

Follicular grafting:  A specialized form of hair transplantation where the naturally occurring follicular units are transplanted one-by-one into balding areas of the scalp.

Folliculitis: An infection of the hair follicles by bacteria, viruses or fungi resulting in itchy and/or painful bumps in and around your hair follicles.

Fraxel Re:store™ Laser:  Laser treatment that produces thousands of deep, small columns of microthermal treatment zones to treat wrinkles, age/sun spots, melasma, undesirable skin texture , and acne scarring while keeping the surrounding, healthy skin intact.

Gentlewave Laser:  A yellow light source laser to aid in healing.

GentleYAG™ Laser:  A non-ablative laser treatment for fine lines, wrinkles, deep blue veins on the face, and skin tightening.

Hemangiomas (red spots):  Also known as red spots, hemangomas are red birthmarks, usually benign, that diminish in appearance over time.

HGM Krypton Laser:  Laser for the treatment of small facial veins, small angiomas, brown and red freckles.

Hyaluronic acid:  Found in cosmetic injections to temporarily smooth wrinkles or plumping lips by adding volume under the skin.

Keloid scars:  Raised scars that are smooth, irregularly shaped, and purple or pinkish in color and form over a healed skin injury. Keloid scars are progressive and tend to enlarge with time so treatment is often required.

Keratin: A fibrous protein found in hair, skin, and nails

Laser hair removal: The use of a hand-held laser device to emit light energy beams into hair follicles, destroying growth and ultimately removing unwanted hair. 

Laser skin resurfacing:  A laser treatment that directs short, concentrated pulses of light to the skin, removing damaged skin cells and improving the look of wrinkles, sun damage, acne scars, and blemishes.

Laser vein removal:  The use of laser and light therapy to reduce the look of unwanted veins.

Latisse®:  The only FDA approved prescription treatment for fuller, darker, and longer eyelashes.

Liposuction:  The surgical removal of excess fat in targeted areas through a suctioning tube in order to contour various parts of the body.

Male pattern baldness (MPB):  The most common type of hair loss in men; pattern baldness is genetic, progressive, and causes hair thinning in the front, central, and crown portions of the scalp.

Medium Chemical Peel:  A moderate grade chemical peel, usually composed of trichloroacetic acid (TCA), to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and smooth the tone and texture of the skin.

Medlite® IV YAG Laser:  Laser primarily used for tattoo removal by breaking up the ink into small particles that are naturally absorbed into the skin.

Melanoma:  The most serious and dangerous type of skin cancer; usually appearing as a dark, either brown or black, lesion.

Melasma:  Discolored, dark, irregular patches of skin on the face, most commonly in women and pregnant women.

Microdermabraison:  A popular skin treatment where the damaged, outermost layer of the skin is partially or completely removed by light abrasion; used in the treatment of sun-damaged skin, age spots, and acne/acne scarring.

Mongolia spots:  A congenital birthmark, large, flat, and blueish-gray in appearance, found on infants, which tends to disappear with age.

Nevus of OTA:  A blue or gray patch of skin on the face, most commonly occurring in women.

Non ablative:  When in reference to cosmetic lasers, non ablative lasers leave the outermost layer of skin intact during treatment.

Perfecta™ Laser:  Micropulse laser technology used to treat the flushing and redness associated with Rosacea, port wine stain birthmarks, facial veins, hemangioma, angioma, venous lakes, and poikiloderma.

PHAROS EX-308 Excimer Laser: A laser light procedure that targets the specific areas of the skin with a concentrated beam of UV light in the treatment of psoriasis.

Poikiloderma:  Lesions caused from sun damage over time and marked by reddish-brown discolorations.

Port wine stains: A birthmark consisting of capillaries in the skin and resulting in a “port wine” or reddish/purplish colored spot on the skin.

Psoriasis: A chronic, treatable yet incurable disease affecting the skin and scalp that commonly causes red, scaly patches to appear on the skin.

RD-1200™ Ruby (QSR) Laser:  Laser treatment used to remove freckles, brown sun spots, café-au-lait, Nevus of OTA birthmarks, and tattoos containing green, blue, and brown ink.

Rosacea:  A chronic, inflammatory skin condition marked by redness of the face and sometimes small, red bumps.

Sclero-Plus™ Laser:  A variable wavelength, pulsed dye laser for the treatments of warts and scars.

Sclerotherapy:  A method of vein removal where a solution or sclerosing agent is injected into the targeted veins, cause them to shrink in size and appearance.

Sebaceous gland:  Microscopic glands within the skin that secretes sebum, or oil. Problems with the sebaceous glands can be the cause of acne.

Skin cancer:  A cancerous skin growth, most commonly caused by sun damage, which generally develops on the outermost layer of skin (the epidermis). The three types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma.

Smart Xide DOT™ Laser:  Laser treatment performed in a “dot” pattern to treat sun damaged skin, wrinkles, and acne scars, and improve skin texture and laxity.

Smoothbeam™ Laser:  Laser technology used to treat acne, improve the look of acne scars, reduce skin oil, and stimulate natural skin collagen growth by targeting the sebaceous glands.

Spider veins:  Veins that are small in size and blueish, redish, or purplish in color; spider veins easily visible through the skin and commonly found on the legs and face.

Squamous cell carcinoma: An early stage, easily treatable form of skin cancer marked by red, scaling, thickening patches of skin in sun-exposed areas.

Stretch marks:  The off-color scarring of skin as a result of rapid growth and/or stretching of the skin in that area.

Superficial Chemical Peel:  The mildest available type of chemical peel usually composed of alphahydroxy acids, to refresh the look of the skin.

Sunburn:  Red, painful skin after prolonged exposure to the sun; sunburn can increase risk of skin cancer and skin damage.

Syringomas:  Non-cancerous tumors that are small, hard, and skin-colored or yellowish in appearance and form most commonly around the eyes. 

Ultrafine™ Erbium Laser:  A cold ablation resurfacing laser used to flatten and smooth raised edges of scars, syringomas, and raised moles.

Ultrapulse 5000C CO2 Laser:  Laser treatment for facial skin resurfacing to improve the look of wrinkles, fine lines, scars, brown spots, and benign skin irregularities.

Varicose veins:  Large raised and/or swollen blood vessels that are visible through the skin and are commonly found on the legs.

Vein stripping:  Also referred to as vein ligation, vein stripping is the surgical removal of unwanted veins. Modern techniques, including slerotherapy, are often preferred over vein stripping because it requires general anesthesia and can be painful.

Venous lakes:  Spots characterized by a dark blue or purplish color commonly found in sun exposed areas of the elderly.

Warts: A small, rough nodule, bump, or tumor most commonly found on the hands.

XTRAC© Excimer laser:  A laser light procedure that targets the specific areas of the skin with a concentrated beam of UV light in the treatment of psoriasis.

All data and information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be misconstrued as medical advice. Dermatology Associates of Atlanta makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, relevance, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. Treatment information and medical recommendations must be made on a case-by-case basis; it is recommended that you seek personalized care from a board certified medical doctor for any medical questions or health issues you may have.