Eschar is dead tissue that falls off (sheds) from healthy skin. It is caused by a burn or cauterization (destroying tissue with heat or cold, or another method).
An escharotic is a substance (such as acids, alkalis, carbon dioxide, or metallic salts) that causes the tissue to die and fall off.
Alternative Names
Escharotic
References
Chung KK, Friedman BC. Critical care of the severely burned. In: Parrillo JE, Dellinger RP, eds. Critical Care Medicine: Principles of Diagnosis and Management in the Adult. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 64.
Foncerrada G, Capek KD, Finnerty CC, Lee JO, Herndon DN. Burn wound management. In: Cameron AM, Cameron JL, eds. Current Surgical Therapy. 13th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:1290-1295.
Taber's Online Medical Dictionary. www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/752803/0/eschar?q=Eschar. Accessed July 6, 2021.
Wolf SE. Burns. In: Townsend CM Jr, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL, eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 21st ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 20.
Review Date 5/24/2021
Updated by: Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
