‖ melanosis Path.
(mɛləˈnəʊsɪs)
Pl. -oses (-ˈəʊsiːz).
[mod.L., a. late Gr. µελάνωσις blackening, f. µελανοῦσθαι to become black, f. µελαν-, µέλας black.]
1. Morbid deposit or abnormal development of a black pigment in some tissue; occas. concr. a discoloration due to this.
| 1823 Cullen & Carswell in Trans. Edin. Med.-Chir. Soc. (1824) 264 We observed in a horse the disease termed Melanosis, developed to a remarkable degree. 1829 Good's Study Med. (ed. 3) III. 341 In the cutaneous texture, says Brescher, melanoses are common. 1843 Graves Lect. Clin. Med. xxx. 382 In some whites this tendency to secrete black matter becomes excessive and gives rise to certain forms of melanosis. 1871 Sir T. Watson Lect. Princ. & Pract. Physic (ed. 5) lii. 251 It [a certain morbid state] has been sometimes called spurious melanosis, sometimes colliers' phthisis. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 700 Freckles may be considered as actinic melanoses. Ibid. 844 Chronic melanosis of the skin is a malady to which hitherto little attention has been drawn. |
2. Black cancer.
| 1834 J. Forbes Laennec's Dis. Chest (ed. 4) 355 Melanosis is one of the rarest species of cancer. 1877 Roberts Handbk. Med. (ed. 3) I. 277 Melanosis and colloid are generally regarded as forms of cancer which [etc.]. |