plaque

plaque definition - medical

plaque (plăk)

noun
  1. A small disk-shaped formation or growth; a patch.
  2. A deposit of fatty material on the inner lining of an arterial wall, characteristic of atherosclerosis.
  3. Dental plaque.
  4. A clear, often round patch of lysed cells in an otherwise opaque layer of a bacteria or cell culture.
  5. A scaly patch formed on the skin by psoriasis.
  6. A sharply defined zone of demyelination characteristic of multiple sclerosis.

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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