phagedena

English

Private James Smith's gunshot wound at the battle of Hatcher’s Run became ulcerous, described as “Phagedenic condition... patient had three successive attacks of phagedena of his wound.

Etymology

From Latin phagedaena, from Ancient Greek φᾰγέδαινα (phagédaina, “cancerous sore, canker”).

Noun

phagedena (countable and uncountable, plural phagedenas)

1. (medicine) Spreading, obstinate ulceration.
   • 2018, Daniel Wallach et al., Neutrophilic Dermatoses:

     In 1941, Sigmund S Greenbaum reviewed the literature on the reported cases of ulcerative pyodermas characterized by the special progression and the undermined borders. He notes that the term phagedena, used in France, was absent from American publications and discussions. Greenbaum proposes a classification of these phagedenic ulcers in primary, arising on normal or traumatized (accidentally or surgically) skin, and secondary, beginning as a venereal disease or an ecthyma.

Derived terms

• phagedenic
• phagedenous