Psoriatic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to a form of arthritis that occurs in individuals who have the skin condition psoriasis
2. Connected to a type of inflammatory arthritis that arises in patients suffering from psoriasis-related skin lesions
3. Pertaining to a specific kind of inflammatory arthritis that develops in individuals with the skin disorder characterized by red, scaly patches

Etymology: Psoriatic is built from "psoriasis" plus the suffix "-atic," which in medical English forms adjectives meaning "relating to" or "affected by" a condition. "Psoriasis" comes from Greek "psōriasis," from "psōra," meaning "itch" or "itchy skin eruption," itself from "psoein," "to rub or scrape." The Greek root reflects the most noticeable feature of the skin disease, the persistent itching and scratching it provokes. Psoriatic arthritis is the joint form of the condition. Doctors recognised that some patients with the scaly skin lesions also developed swollen, painful joints, and the adjective was formed to name that link. It describes the arthritis, the disease category, or the patient, so a psoriatic patient is one whose psoriasis has been accompanied by arthritic symptoms.