Exulcerates

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To lead to the production of ulcerative lesions in bodily tissues To result in the formation of sore or necrotic regions within an organism To provoke the development of ulcers, which causes damage or decay to the surface of organs
2. To bring about the breakdown of tissue resulting in open sores or ulcers
3. To induce the appearance of pathological sores that damage the surface layers within living tissues

Etymology: "Exulcerates" is the third-person singular form of "exulcerate," a verb meaning to cause pathological sores that eat into the surface layers of living tissue. The verb comes from Latin "exulcerare," built from the prefix "ex-" ("out, thoroughly") and "ulcerare," "to make sore," which itself derives from "ulcus," meaning "sore" or "ulcer." The sense of the root is literal: the prefix intensifies a wound that breaks open and spreads outward. Because the verb is formed by adding a prefix to an existing Latin verb, it is a straightforward case of the Latin medical vocabulary that English borrowed wholesale. The English verb follows the Latin participle's shape, so the word carries the same picture of a sore working its way through the tissue.