What does erysipelas mean?
Erysipelas is an acute bacterial infection of the upper layers of the skin and the superficial lymphatic vessels, caused most commonly by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes. It announces itself dramatically: the affected skin — most often on the face or the lower legs — becomes intensely red, hot, swollen, and tender, with a sharply defined, raised edge that distinguishes it from other skin infections such as cellulitis, which spreads more diffusely beneath the surface. Fever, chills, and malaise frequently accompany the outbreak. Historically known as St. Anthony's fire because of its burning appearance, erysipelas was a serious and sometimes fatal disease before the advent of antibiotics; today it usually responds well to penicillin and related drugs, though recurrence is common in people with poor circulation or compromised lymphatic drainage. The word remains a staple of medical vocabulary, valued by clinicians for its diagnostic precision.
nounAn acute bacterial infection of the skin and superficial lymphatic vessels, typically caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, characterized by a raised, hot, bright-red area of skin with sharply defined edges, most often on the face or lower legs.
- A specific acute skin infection caused chiefly by Streptococcus bacteria, marked by intensely red, swollen, well-demarcated patches, usually on the face or legs.
"The patient's fever and the spreading redness on her shin led the physician to diagnose erysipelas rather than simple bruising."
"In the pre-penicillin era, a case of erysipelas on the face could prove fatal within days."
"He was hospitalized after recurrent erysipelas in his left leg left the skin painfully inflamed and blistered."
In modern medical usage the word is almost always uncountable; when a countable plural is needed, 'erysipelases' is used, but this form is rare.
"Nineteenth-century hospital records document numerous erysipelases following surgical procedures."
Before antibiotics, erysipelas was so feared it earned the nickname 'St. Anthony's fire' — its burning red rash once swept through entire households like a plague of flame.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of erysipelas
Erysipelas derives from Greek, combining erythros ('red') with pella ('skin'), yielding a literal sense of 'red skin'. The term passed into Latin and entered English in the late Middle English period via medieval medical Latin. It shares the Greek root erythr- with several modern scientific terms, including erythema, erythrocyte (red blood cell), and the antibiotic name erythromycin.
How erysipelas is actually used
Erysipelas is a formal medical term used primarily in clinical and historical contexts rather than everyday speech; it is an uncountable noun in most usage, though a plural form exists for multiple cases.
Easily confused with erysipelas
Cellulitis is a deeper infection of the dermis and subcutaneous tissue with poorly defined borders, whereas erysipelas affects the upper layers of the skin with sharply demarcated, raised edges.