lesioned

Lesioned is an adjective and the past participle of lesion. In medical and scientific usage, a lesion refers to an abnormal change in tissue flesh, organ, or cell structure caused by injury, disease, or dysfunction. When tissue is described as lesioned, it means it has sustained damage or disruption, and the changes may be structural, functional, or both. The term can also function as a verb: to lesion means to cause a lesion or to produce tissue damage.

Lesions can occur in any organ but are most commonly discussed in the brain and skin. Brain lesions include areas damaged by stroke, tumor growth, infection, or demyelinating disease; skin lesions may manifest as wounds, ulcers, rashes, or tumors. Lesions can be focal or diffuse, benign or malignant, acute or chronic. In pathology, a lesion is any abnormal change in tissue detectable by examination, imaging, or biopsy.

In research, lesioning refers to deliberately creating lesions in the nervous system to study function. Historically, lesioning helped map brain regions responsible for language, memory, or movement, but modern practice often employs noninvasive methods or selective genetic models, reducing the need for invasive lesions.

Clinical practice uses imaging techniques such as MRI or CT scans to detect lesions and inform diagnosis and treatment planning. The term lesioned appears across radiology, neuropathology, dermatology, and veterinary medicine, signaling tissue that has been damaged or altered from its normal state.