Cicatrisation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The healing process characterized by the formation of fibrous tissue to replace damaged skin or other types of tissue, resulting in scar formation
2. This biological response involves tissue regeneration that leads to the creation of a scar after an injury or surgical procedure
3. The process by which damaged tissue recovers by replacing injured areas with fibrous scar tissue

Etymology: "Cicatrisation" is the British spelling of "cicatrization," and its roots reach back to the Latin word for a scar. The Latin "cicatrix" (genitive "cicatricis") meant a scar or mark left on the skin after a wound had healed, and it is the source of the "cicatric-" stem used in medical language. The "-ation" ending, from Latin "-atio," turns the verb-based idea into a noun for a process, so the word names the act of forming a scar rather than the scar itself. The immediate route into English runs through French. Modern French has "cicatrisation," and English adopted the word from that language, so the form you see reflects French spelling conventions and the Latin stem beneath them. Because it is a technical coinage built from classical parts, it belongs to the vocabulary of medicine and surgery rather than to everyday speech.

Synonyms: healing, scarring, closure

Antonyms: wound, injury