You searched for: “papule
papule (s), papules (pl)
1. A circumscribed (round), solid elevation up to one centimeter in diameter on the skin.
2. A small solid rounded bump rising from the skin which is usually less than one centimeter in diameter (less than 3/8 inch across).
3. A small, red, elevated area on the skin, solid and circumscribed; a pimple.

Papules may open when scratched and become crusty and infected.

Dermatologists (and other physicians) call any small solid circumscribed bump in the skin a papule, as opposed to a vesicle which contains fluid or a macule which is flat and even with the surrounding skin.

In measles, they are small and run together. In smallpox, they are hard and feel like pellets, terminating in umbilicated vesicles that itch.

This entry is located in the following unit: papulo-, papul-, papuli- + (page 1)