Describing Hair and Related Abnormalities

The document provides a glossary of terms related to hair and its abnormalities. It defines alopecia as hair loss typically on the scalp, and describes various phases of hair growth including anagen (growth phase), catagen (regression phase), and telogen (quiescence period). It also explains conditions like cicatricial alopecia (irreversible loss of hair follicles), effluvium (increased hair shedding), and trichotillomania (compulsion to pull out one's hair). Other terms include canities (graying of hair), hirsutism (excessive hair growth in females in a male pattern), hypertrichosis (excessive hair growth on any body part), and miniaturization (terminal-to-vellus hair conversion seen in conditions like androgenic alopecia). The document also describes various hair types such as terminal, vellus, and lanugo hair, and hair-related phenomena like piloerection (hair standing up due to arrector pili muscle action) and poliosis (white or gray hair patches). The author, Christina P. Linton, PhD, FNP-BC, declares no conflict of interest. The document does not appear to be a research study or contain experimental data, but rather serves as an educational resource on dermatological terminology.