Comedon

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of clogged hair follicle that appears as a small bump on the skin due to trapped oil and dead skin cells; often associated with acne and can be open or closed; the condition presents varied symptoms based on the severity of blockage and inflammation
2. A dermatological term for a blockage in hair follicles resulting in small, raised areas on the skin; these may present as darkened or skin-colored spots depending on whether the follicle is open to the air; associated with acne and managed through cleansing and topical treatments
3. A small skin lesion formed by the accumulation of sebum and keratin that obstructs a follicle, typically causing either a dark or flesh-colored bump associated with acne

Etymology: The Latin "comedo" meant "glutton" or "one who eats up," from "comedere," "to eat up," which combines "com-" (completely) with "edere" (to eat). The link to skin is not written down in any single source I can confirm, but the likely idea is that the plug of oil and dead cells looked like a grub or worm eating its way out of the pore, and that image of consumption gave the medical term its name. The word has stayed in medical use as a term for the plugged follicle itself, and it is the root of the familiar pair "open comedo" (blackhead) and "closed comedo" (whitehead). The Latin sense of gluttony did not survive into English, so the everyday reader meets only the skin meaning.

Synonyms: blackhead, whitehead, pimple, zit, acne lesion