Disease or Syndrome
lentigo Audio
len·ti·go [ len-tahy-goh ]
Subclass of:
Melanosis
Etymology:
Latin lentigo = a freckle
It belongs to a group of very old Latin nouns ending in -igo (or -ligo when the root ends in a vowel, and sometimes -ago or -lago), which all denote diseases of animals and plants.
Definitions related to lentigo:
  • A flat, benign, pigmented spot on the skin caused by excessive deposition of melanin from an increased number of melanocytes in the cell layer directly above the basement membrane of the epidermis. Formation is usually related to sun exposure during youth, and the lesions do not typically progress to malignancy.
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Small circumscribed melanoses resembling, but differing histologically from, freckles. The concept includes senile lentigo ('liver spots') and nevoid lentigo (nevus spilus, lentigo simplex) and may also occur in association with multiple congenital defects or congenital syndromes (e.g., Peutz-Jeghers syndrome).
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
  • A lentigo is a small, sharply circumscribed, pigmented macule surrounded by normal-appearing skin. Histologic findings may include hyperplasia of the epidermis and increased pigmentation of the basal layer.
    Medscape
    WebMD, 2025
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