Sloughed

Sloughed is the past tense and past participle of the verb slough, meaning to shed or cast off a layer of material. The term is used across biology, medicine, and everyday description to refer to the removal of outer tissue, skin, bark, or other material, or to something being discarded.

In wound care, slough describes soft, moist necrotic tissue on a wound bed that hinders healing; removal of slough, or debridement, is a common medical procedure to prepare the wound for healing. Slough is normally distinguished from eschar, which is dry, leathery necrotic tissue.

In living organisms, many animals and plants slough or molt as part of growth or renewal. Reptiles and amphibians shed old skin, while insects moult to replace exoskeletons; plants may slough bark or leaves during growth or in response to stress.

In geography, slough also refers to a swamp, bog, or backwater in wetlands; the word appears in place names and in discussions of wetland ecosystems.