Acne Quizzes and Acne Answers from FightAcne.com
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What is the dermatology name for this common acne lesion?
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We all recognize this common acne lesion as a blackhead. Blackheads are one form of a closed pore. The medical or dermatology word for a closed pore is called a "comedo". The plural of comedo is comedones.
Comedones are the earliest lesions of acne. Comedones are formed when the layers of skin lining a pore do not slough off or mature as they normally would. The layers instead stay in the pore and cause the pore to become jammed or obstructed.
The black discoloration in a blackhead is often mistaken for dirt, but in reality it is just the pigment or melanin from the collected cells.
Blackheads are open to the surface and do not have a layer of skin cells covering the pore, as is seen in whiteheads. Blackheads are called ''open comedones'', whereas whiteheads are called 'closed comedones''. Blackheads rarely develop directly into pimples since inflammatory cells and sebum do not frequently build up in blackheads or open comedones.
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