seborrhœa Path.
(sɛbəˈriːə)
Also (chiefly U.S.) seborrhea.
[f. sebo- used as combining form of sebum + Gr. ῥοία flow, flux.]
An excessive discharge from the sebaceous glands forming a greasy or scaly coating upon the skin.
| 1876 Duhring Dis. Skin 48 Sebaceous crusts, as those of seborrhoea, are light yellow, dirty yellow, or blackish in color. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 759 The name seborrhœa..is not a satisfactory one. 1940 Becker & Obermayer Mod. Dermatol. & Syphilol. v. 56/2 It is advisable to assume that seborrhea and the diseases to which it predisposes, namely acne vulgaris, seborrheic dermatitis and rosacea, do not appear before puberty. 1973 Nature 8 June 350/1 In Parkinsonism the associated seborrhoea is induced by excessive secretion of a pituitary sebotrophic hormone. 1978 J. Kilmartin tr. R. Aron-Brunetière's Beauty & Medicine ii. 22 Even people with fairly mild seborrhea or acne are self-conscious about it. |
Hence seboˈrrhœic (also -rrheic) a., of the nature of, or pertaining to, seborrhœa.
| 1893 Crocker Dis. Skin (ed. 2) 696 Seborrhœic Dermatitis. Ibid. 355 The last-named wishes to revert to the old term of seborrhœic wart. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 904 The diplococcus of seborrhœic eczema. 1955 Sci. News Let. 12 Feb. 104/3 The scientists have reported using the glands in cases of..seborrheic dermatitis. 1971 [see liver spot s.v. liver n.1 7]. 1977 Lancet 27 Aug. 440/2 One troublesome feature.., the seborrhœic scalp rash, responds excellently to application of a tar shampoo. |