Glossary

Here are some common names and terms used in the world of birthmarks:

'Angel's kiss' or 'salmon patch' or 'stork bite': these are pink or tanned, flat, irregularly-shaped marks that often disappear a few months. Nearly half of all babies have such a birthmark.

Café au lait spot: these are usually oval, light brown (coffee coloured) marks which appear at birth or in early childhood. They do not fade over time. They are also sometimes called 'giraffe spots'.

Giraffe spot: see Café au lait spot.

Haemangioma: a collection of blood vessels that form a lump under the skin; often called a 'strawberry mark' as it looks like the surface of a strawberry.

Hypertrophy:  enlargement or overgrowth of an organ or part of the body.

Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome: a rare disorder (present at birth) in which blood vessels and/or lymph vessels fail to form properly. The three main features are a port wine stain, venous and lymphatic malformations, and soft-tissue overgrowth of the affected limb.

Laser: a treatment which uses a narrow beam of light to heat and shrink blood vessels.

Mole: a benign (harmless) tumour on human skin which usually has a darker pigment.

Mongolian spot: a harmless flat birthmark with wavy borders and irregular shape, most commonly blue, or blue-grey.

Naevus (plural: naevi): any birthmark or pigmented spot on the skin such as a mole.

Port wine stain: a red or purple mark on the skin, caused by widened blood vessels where blood flows slowly through the area all the time. It is always present from birth.

Sclerotherapy:  the injection of a chemical into a vein causing it to harden and the blood to clot. Blood flow shifts to nearby healthy blood vessels.

Salmon patches: See Angel's kiss.

Stork bites: See Angel's kiss.

Strawberry mark: another name for haemangioma as the surface looks like the surface of a strawberry.

Sturge-Weber syndrome: a syndrome from birth that affects the skin, the neurological system, and sometimes organs. The main sign of Sturge-Weber syndrome is a port wine stain birthmark.

Syndrome: a set of signs and symptoms that often occur together and reflect a disease or increased chance of developing a disease.

Tumour: an abnormal swelling or mass of tissue formed by a new growth of cells, normally independent of the surrounding structures.

Ulceration: The process or fact of being eroded away, as by an ulcer.

Vascular: Relating to the blood vessels of the body. The blood vessels of the body, as a group, are referred to as the vascular system.