Focus: skin care

Denudation: loss of epidermis; depriving of a covering or protecting layer; the act of laying bare, as in the removal of the epithelium from a surface; denuded.^1,2

Excoriation: linear erosion; destruction of the skin by mechanical means.¹

Erosion: loss of epidermis, superficial; part or all of the epidermis has been lost; depressed, may be oozing or moist.¹

Fistula: an abnormal passage or opening between two or more epithelialised surfaces resulting in an opening between one body cavity and another.³ Usually named/classified based upon on site of origin and site of termination, such as enterocutaneous fistula in which intestine forms a connection to the skin.

Intertriginous dermatitis (ITD): also known as intertrigo; an inflammatory dermatosis of opposing skin surfaces caused by the friction that occurs when the skin rubs together and is made worse by trapped moisture.⁴ It is commonly found in the skin folds in the inframammary, axillary, and inguinal regions, intergluteal cleft and beneath the pannus.²