GC: n

S: WHO – http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/94830/1/9789241548694_eng.pdf (last access: 10 October 2015); http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=9695 (last access: 10 October 2015).

N: 1. Early 15c., from Middle French lesion, from Latin laesionem (nominative laesio) “injury,” from past participle stem of laedere “to strike, hurt, damage,” of unknown origin. Originally with reference to any sort of hurt, whether physical or not.
2. Pronounced “lee-sion” with the emphasis on the “lee,” a lesion can be almost any abnormal change involving any tissue or organ due to disease or injury. There are numerous types of lesions with different naming classifications.
3. Lesions can be categorized according to whether or not they are caused by cancer. A benign lesion is non-cancerous whereas a malignant lesion is cancerous. For example, a biopsy of a skin lesion may prove it to be benign or malignant, or evolving into a malignant lesion (called a premalignant lesion).
4. Lesions can be defined according to the patterns they form. For example, a bull’s-eye or target lesion is one that looks like the bull’s eye on a target. (In an X-ray of the duodenum, a bull’s-eye lesion can represent a tumor with an ulcer (crater) in the center.) A coin lesion is a round shadow resembling a coin on a chest X-ray. It, too, is usually due to a tumor.
5. Related terms: injury or wound.
An injury is damage to your body. It is a general term that refers to harm caused by accidents, falls, hits, weapons, and more. In the U.S., millions of people injure themselves every year. These injuries range from minor to life-threatening. Injuries can happen at work or play, indoors or outdoors, driving a car, or walking across the street.
Wounds are injuries that break the skin or other body tissues. They include cuts, scrapes, scratches, and punctured skin. They often happen because of an accident, but surgery, sutures, and stitches also cause wounds. Minor wounds usually aren’t serious, but it is important to clean them. Serious and infected wounds may require first aid followed by a visit to your doctor. You should also seek attention if the wound is deep, you cannot close it yourself, you cannot stop the bleeding or get the dirt out, or it does not heal.
6. Combined with “spinal” or “spinal cord”, English prefers “injury” to “lesion”.

S: 1 to 4. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=9695 (last access: 10 October 2015). 5. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/woundsandinjuries.html (last access: 10 October 2015). 6. FCB.

SYN: injury (context)

S: TERMIUM PLUS (last access: 10 October 2015)

CR: ataxia, blister, herpes zoster, myoclonus, psoriasis, spinal cord, trauma, biopsy