Hair Loss Glossary of
Terms
Alopecia: Loss of hair as a result of
illness, functional disorder, or hereditary disposition. The
medical term for baldness.
Alopecia totalis: A condition that results in no hair on the
scalp. It may begin as Alopecia Areata or some other cause.
Androgenetic alopecia: Hair loss resulting from a genetic
predisposition to effects of DHT on the hair follicles. Also
termed female pattern baldness and male pattern baldness, male
pattern baldness, hereditary alopecia and common baldness
Club hair: A hair that has stopped growing or is no longer in
the anagen phase. It is anchored to the skin with its
"club-like" toot, but will eventually be pushed out and
replaced by a growing hair.
Cortex: The layer of the hair shaft that surrounds the medulla
and is filled with keratin fibers.
Crown: The highest part of the head
Donor site: Area where pieces of hair-bearing skin are taken
from during a hair transplant.
Female pattern baldness (FPB): Progressive thinning of hair
throughout the entire head caused by genes, age and hormones.
It usually develops at a much slower rate than male pattern
baldness.
Follicle: A saclike structure just below the surface of your
scalp. The sheath within which hair grows
Follicular Unit: Natural groupings of hair that grow together
as a group in the scalp and share the same blood supply.
Follicular Unit Transplantation: An advanced form of hair
transplantation in which the surgeon harvests hair in
naturally occurring follicular units and grafts them to
balding sections of the scalp.
Frontal Alopecia: Hair loss at the front of the head
Grafting: A variety of procedures describing the removal of
hair bearing scalp from the back of the head to a recipient
site. The most widely used types of grafting are slit grafts, micrografting and minigrafting (All outdated).
Grafts: Transplanted hair
Hair matrix: Region where hair and the structures that compose
it (cortex, cuticle and medulla) are made.
Hair shaft: Filament projecting from the epidermis that
provides protection and warmth (Hair).
Infundibulum: the superior or highest portion, of the hair
follicle.
Inhibitory protein: protein found in healthy scalps (without
hair loss) that appears to inhibit the binding of dihydrotestosterone to its receptor. This protein appears to
be absent in androgenetic alopecia.
Intermediate hairs: hairs which demonstrate characteristic
between vellus and terminal hairs. They contain a moderate
amount of pigment and are medullated.
Isthmus: the middle region of the hair follicle which usually
contains the sebaceous gland.
Lanugo hair: The downy hair on the body of the fetus and
newborn baby. Resembles vellus hair, soft and un-pigmented
Linear graft: A row of hair and skin that is transplanted onto
bald regions (outdated).
Male pattern baldness (MPB): The most common type of hair loss
that is caused by hormones, genes and age, and is usually
progressive in nature. It affects the central and frontal area
of the scalp and often results in a pronounced U-Shape
configuration.
Medulla: A central zone of cells present only in large, thick
hairs.
Melanin: Pigmenting granules within the keratin fibers of the
hair shaft that determine hair color. They usually decrease
with age, resulting in gray or white hair.
Midline: Region towards the middle of the scalp
Miniaturization: The destructive process by which DHT shrinks
hair follicles, key marker of androgenetic alopecia.
Minigraft: A small hair graft consisting of three to eight
follicles each.
Nonscarring alopecia: A broad category of different types of
hair loss, including androgenetic alopecia. The hair follicle
remains intact, thus increasing the likelihood that hair loss
can be reversed.
Papilla: The small root area at the base of hair, which
receives the nutrients from the follicle needed for hair
growth.
Posterior Scalp: Back of the head.
Punch graft: A group of ten to twenty hairs in a circular
graft.
Recipient site: Bald area which hair grafts are transplanted.
Rotational flap: A surgical procedure which involves lifting a
three-sided area of hair-bearing scalp and pivoting it 90 to
180 degrees into the balding area.
Saw palmetto: A natural herb that has been shown to be an
effective antiandrogen
Scalp reduction: Surgical procedure in which an ellipse of
bald scalp is removed from a small midline bald spot and the
hair-bearing scalp between the ears is pulled together and
sutured closed. This reduces the bald area.
Scarring alopecia: Patchy hair loss with obvious sign of scalp
inflammation.
Scleroderma: A disease of the skin and connective tissue that
can cause hair loss over the affected areas.
Sebaceous glands: Fatty glands found in hair follicles
throughout the body that secrete oil into the hair and
surrounding skin.
Sebum: An oily secretion manufactured by tiny sebaceous glands
near the follicles that keeps your hair lubricated and shiny.
Senescent alopecia: the type of hair loss that naturally
occurs with age. During the process of aging, both the
duration of hair growth and the diameter of the hair follicle
decrease.
Shock fallout: The condition that occurs when hair
transplantation is performed on men with a significant amount
of naturally occurring hair left on their head. Trauma due to
the procedure itself induces a telogen phase for much of the
hair around the implanted grafts. Hair lost due to shock
fallout returns in some cases.
Slit graft: A graft of three to four hairs inserted into a
slit rather than a round hole.
Stretch back: A condition that occurs after a scalp reduction
procedure due to the elastic characteristic of the skin. The
bald area that could not be eliminated totally during a scalp
reduction increases in width three months after the procedure,
thus reducing the procedure's effectiveness.
Telogen: The resting phase of the hair cycle which usually
lasts approximately three months.
Telogen effluvium: The second most common form of hair loss. A
condition which causes an increased number of hairs to enter
the telogen or resting phase.
Telogen loss: Loss of hair during resting phase of hair or
"natural" loss
Temporal recession: Hair loss in the temple region
Terminal hair: The coarser, pigmented hair that appears on the
scalp, face, armpits, and pubic areas.
Theory of donor dominance: Scientific basis for hair
transplantation stating that hair's genetic code resides
within the hair follicle and not in the recipient site into
which it is transplanted.
Tissue expansion: A method used to increase the effectiveness
of surgical hair restoration. A balloon-like device is
inserted under the scalp several weeks before the procedure
and is gradually inflated weekly with saline.
Traction alopecia: This refers to hair loss which occurs do to
traction placed on hair. Traction alopecia is commonly seen
with braids, pony tails and other hairstyles which create
traction on the scalp.
Trichotillomania: A type of alopecia caused by the constant
pulling and twirling of a specific area of scalp. The hair
loss usually improves once the habit is precluded; however, in
some severe cases it is permanent.
Vellus hair: Fine baby peach-fuzz hair, not easily visible to
the naked eye. They lack a central medulla, which is present
in thick terminal hairs.
Vertex: The crown area of the scalp
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