Lesion

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A lesion is a non-specific term referring to abnormal tissue in the body. It can be caused by any disease process including trauma (physical, chemical, electrical), infection, neoplasm, metabolic and autoimmune.

There are many types of lesions. There are also many ways to classify and name lesions.

They can be categorized depending on whether they are caused by cancer (malignant) or not (benign).
Lesions can be described according to the patterns they form: e.g. bullseye or target lesions look like their name. A bullseye is formed by a ulcer in the center of the lesion.
Lesions can also be named after their discoverer: e.g. Ghon lesions are scarlike lesions in the lungs of adults who had tuberculosis in childhood.
Lesions can be categorized by their size: e.g. a gross J lesion is one that can be seen with the naked eye; histologic lesions require microscopes to be seen.
Lesions can be defined by their location: e.g. a peripheral lesion involves the nerves away from the spinal cord.

The variety of lesions is virtually endless.

[edit] Cause and treatment

Lesions can also be inflicted intentionally during surgery, for example to specific regions of the brain to treat epilepsy. Thus a lesion can mean inflicting damage to an area of the brain i.e. by burning or cutting, in order to study the effects of disabling this area of the brain. Not all lesions require treatment.

Lesion is derived from the Latin word "laesio" which means "injury."