An eruption of minute vesicles and papules due to retention of fluid at the orifices of sweat glands. SYN: miliary fever (2). [L. miliarius, relating to millet, fr. milium, millet]
- m. crystallina a noninflammatory form of m. in which the fragile subcorneal vesicles, about 100 mm in diameter, are filled with clear fluid. SYN: crystal rash, sudamina (2).
- m. profunda pale firm papules, most commonly on the trunk; m. profunda is asymptomatic and results from severe damage to the sweat ducts after repeated episodes of m. rubra. Heat stress may cause collapse because of the high proportion of nonfunctional sweat glands.
- m. rubra an eruption of pruritic macules with small central vesicles at the orifices of sweat glands, accompanied by redness and inflammatory reaction of the skin. SYN: heat rash, prickly heat, summer rash, wildfire rash.
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mil·i·ar·ia .mil-ē-'ar-ē-ə, -'er- n an inflammatory disorder of the skin characterized by redness, eruption, burning or itching, and the release of sweat in abnormal ways (as by the eruption of vesicles) due to blockage of the ducts of the sweat glands esp PRICKLY HEAT
mil·i·ar·i·al -əl adj
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n.
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mi·li·a·ria (mil″e-arґe-ə) [L. milium millet] 1. a skin condition associated with obstruction of sweat ducts, resulting in sweat retention, rupture of ducts below the level of the obstruction, and extravasation of sweat within the skin. The three most common types are miliaria crystallina, miliaria rubra, and miliaria profunda, distinguished according to the level of obstruction; they are seen primarily in infants, although they sometimes occur in adults in hot, humid conditions. 2. m. rubra.Medical dictionary. 2011.