Medical Definition of Baldness (original) (raw)

Baldness: Medically known as alopecia. There are many types of baldness, each with a different cause. Baldness may be localized to the front and top of the head, as in the very common type of male-pattern baldness; baldness may be patchy, a condition called?alopecia areata; or a variant of alopecia areata may involve the entire head: alopecia capitis totalis. The word "alopecia" comes from the Greek "alopex" for "fox."?