Integumentary Terminology

Question 1

What is serous exudate?

Answer 1

clear, light color and a thin, watery consistency

considered normal in a healthy healing wound and observed during the inflammatory and proliferative phases of healing

Question 2

What is sanguineous Exudate?

Answer 2

red color and a thin, watery consistency

red appearance due to blood which may be brown if allowed to dehydrate and may be indicative of new blood vessel growth or the disruption of blood vessels

Question 3

What is serosanguineous exudate?

Answer 3

light red or pink color and a thin, watery consistency

considered to be normal in a healthy healing wound and is typically observed during the inflammatory and proliferative phases of healing

Question 4

What is Seropurulent exudate?

Answer 4

cloudy or opaque with a yellow or tan color and thin watery consistency

may be an early warning sign of an impending infection and is always considered abnormal

Question 5

What is purulent exudate?

Answer 5

yellow or green color and thick viscous consistency

generally an indicator for wound infection and is always considered abnormal

Question 6

What is eschar necrotic tissue?

Answer 6

hard or leathery, black/brown color, dehydrated tissue that tends to be firmly adhered to the wound bed

Question 7

What is gangrene necrotic tissue?

Answer 7

death and decay of tissue resulting from an interruption in blood flow to an area of the body

can also be characterized by the presence of bacterial infection and commonly affects the extremities but can also occur in muscles and internal organs

Question 8

What is hyperkeratosis necrotic tissue?

Answer 8

also referred to as a callus

is typically white/gray in color and can vary in texture from firm to soggy depending on the moisture level in surrounding tissue

Question 9

What is slough necrotic tissue?

Answer 9

moist, stringy or mucinous, white/yellow tissue that tends to be loosely attached in clumps to the wound bed

Question 10

What is the wound description and goals for wounds classified as RED in the Red-Yellow-Black System?

Answer 10

pink granulation tissue

protect the wound and maintain moist environment

Question 11

What is the wound description and goals for wounds classified as YELLOW in the Red-Yellow-Black System?

Answer 11

moist yellow slough

remove exudate and debris; absorb drainage

Question 12

What is the wound description and goals for wounds classified as BLACK in the Red-Yellow-Black System?

Answer 12

black, thick eschar firmly adhered

debride necrotic tissue

Question 13

What is a contusion?

Answer 13

a blunt force injury that does not disrupt skin integrity and characterized by pain, edema, and discoloration which appears as a result of blood seepage under the skin surface

Question 14

What is dehiscence?

Answer 14

separation, rupture, or splitting of a wound closed by primary intention and may be superficial or involve all layers of tissue

Question 15

What does desiccated mean for wounds?

Answer 15

drying out or dehydration of a wound

usually caused by poor dressing selection that does not control wound bed moisture

Question 16

What does desquamation mean?

Answer 16

peeling or shredding of the outer layers of the epidermis, normally occurs in small scales but can become bigger sheets of skin and extend to deeper layers with certain medications, illnesses, or injuries

Question 17

What is ecchymosis?

Answer 17

discoloration occurring below intact skin resulting from trauma to underlying blood vessels and blood seeping into tissues

commonly referred to as a bruise

Question 18

What is erythema?

Answer 18

diffuse redness of the skin often resulting from capillary dilation and congestion or inflammation

Question 19

What does friable mean?

Answer 19

tissue that readily tears, fragments, or bleeds when gently palpated or maipulated

Question 20

What is a hematoma?

Answer 20

localized swelling or mass of clotted blood confined to a tissue, organ or space usually caused by a break in a blood vessel

Question 21

What is hypergranulation?

Answer 21

increased thickness of the granular layer of the epidermis that exceeds the surface height of the skin

Question 22

What is hyperpigmentation?

Answer 22

an excess of pigment in a tissue that cases it to appear darker than surrounding tissues

Question 23

What is a hypertrophic scar?

Answer 23

an abnormal scar resulting from excessive collagen formation during healing and is typically raised, red, and firm with disorganized collagen fibers

Question 24

What is a keloid?

Answer 24

an abnormal scar formation that is out of proportion to the scarring required for normal tissue repair and is comprised of irregularly distributed collagen bands

appears bigger than the original wound and is raised, red, thick, and firm

Question 25

What is maceration?

Answer 25

skin softening and degeneration that results from prolonged exposure to water or other fluids

Question 26

What is a normotrophic scar?

Answer 26

scar that has collagen fibers in parallel fashion

Question 27

What is turgor?

Answer 27

relative speed in which the skin resumes its normal appearance after being lightly pinched

indicator of skin elasticity and hydration and normally occurs slower in older adults

Question 28

What is an allograft?

Answer 28

a temporary skin graft taken from another human, usually a cadaver, in order to cover a large burned area

(homograft)

Question 29

What is an autograft?

Answer 29

a permanent skin graft taken from a donor site on the patient’s own body

Question 30

What is escharotomy?

Answer 30

a surgical procedure that opens or removes eschar from a burn site to reduce tension on a surrounding structure, relieve pressure from interstitial edema, and subsequently enhance circulation

Question 31

What is a full-thickness graft?

Answer 31

a skin grafts that contains the dermis and epidermis

Question 32

What is a heterograft (xenograft)?

Answer 32

a temporary skin graft taken from another species

Question 33

What is a mesh graft?

Answer 33

skin graft that is altered to create a mesh like pattern in order to cover a larger surface area

Question 34

What is a sheet graft?

Answer 34

a skin graft that is transferred directly from the unburned donor site to the prepared recipient site

Question 35

What is a split thickness graft?

Answer 35

a skin graft that contains only a superficial layer of the dermis in addition to the epidermis

Question 36

What is a Z-plasty?

Answer 36

a surgical procedure to eliminate a scar contracture

An incision in the shape of a “Z” allows the contracture to change configuration and lengthen the scar