lichen

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lichen

1. an organism that is formed by the symbiotic association of a fungus and an alga or cyanobacterium and occurs as crusty patches or bushy growths on tree trunks, bare ground, etc. Lichens are now classified as a phylum of fungi (Mycophycophyta)

2. Pathol any of various eruptive disorders of the skin

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

lichen

[′lī·kən]

(botany)

The common name for members of the Lichenes.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Lichen

 

(in Russian, lishai), a term used to designate many diseases of the skin, of varied external manifestations, courses, and causes.

The term “leichen” was first used by ancient Greek physicians to refer to all rashes accompanied by itching and desquamation. In modern medicine, the term “lishai” is used in Russian as a second name, defining more precisely the other medical designations of the diseases. For example, eczema is known as moknushchii lishai (exudative lichen); psoriasis, as cheshuichatyi lishai (scaly lichen); and trichophytosis, as strigushchii lishai (shearing lichen).

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.