escama

Escama is a Spanish term with several related meanings centered on a flat, thin plate or layer. In biology, it most commonly refers to the scales that cover the bodies of many fishes and reptiles. Fish scales are small, overlapping plates that originate in the skin and vary in type and ornamentation across species, providing protection, camouflage, and streamlined movement. Reptile scales are keratinized epidermal plates that form a protective outer skin and help reduce water loss.

In dermatology and everyday language, escama can denote a small fragment of skin or surface tissue that peels away, as in desquamation. This usage appears in descriptions of skin conditions or when noting flaky material on the scalp or other areas. The term is also used more broadly to describe any thin, flaky layer that detaches from a surface, such as a mineral, shell, or crust.

Historically and in some technical contexts, escama can refer to armor plates or shell segments that resemble scales. The word emphasizes a flat, plate-like shape rather than a curved surface, a sense carried into various disciplines through metaphor and literal use.

Etymologically, escama derives from Latin scama or scama, related to the notion of a scale or plate. In modern Spanish, “escama” is common in both scientific and everyday language, with the plural escamas used to describe multiple scales or flakes.