An eating away; a type of ulceration.
In dentistry, the progressive loss of tooth substance by chemical processes that do not involve bacterial action, producing defects that are sharply defined, wedgeshaped depressions often in facial and cervical areas. Compare: Abfraction, Abrasion, Attrition.
Tooth wear caused by dietary, digestive or environmental acids.
In ecology, the removal of soil and other materials by natural agencies, primarily water and wind. In pathology, ulceration or the eating away of a structure.
The action of wearing away tissue or breaking down tissue.
Wearing away of a surface, especially a mucous membrane or epidermal surface, due to inflammation, injury, friction, or other factor.
An eating away of surface tissue by physical or chemical processes, including those associated with inflammation. A cervical erosion is an abnormal area of epithelium that may develop at the neck of the womb due to tissue damage caused at childbirth or by attempts at abortion. Dental erosion is absorption of the surface of the teeth, resembling caries, caused by overindulgence in acid foods and drinks, such as fruit juices and soft (carbonated) beverages.
Gradual wearing down of structures in the body. The term is applied to the effect of tumours, when they cause destruction of tissue in their neighbourhood without actually growing into the latter: for example, an aneurysm may erode bones in its neighbourhood. The term is also applied to minute ulcers for example, erosions of the stomach, caused by extreme acidity of the gastric juice.
Erosion refers to the damage and disappearance of surface tissue due to physical or chemical processes.
An open sore, often referring to a deteriorated area on the cervix or the neck of the uterus, which can occur postpartum. This condition results in a white, and sometimes blood-tinged, vaginal discharge that persists until the affected area is treated with cauterization. This discharge is colloquially referred to as “the whites.”