Leaf display

Yesterday I underwent my second session of chemotherapy.

All went well

However, one new and unexpected aspect was observed. The specialist nurse (wearing yesterday’s fob watch) pointed out an uncommon but not very rare condition of my skin, caused by the treatment.

The back of my hands show a distinct pattern which is known as Anterior Foglium Display. (AFD).

From folium, the Latin word for a leaf (modern Italian foglia)

You need to look closely to see the lines; easy to spot once you know what you are looking at and has a “leaf like appearance “.
Royal Bournemouth Hospital is a teaching hospital too (part of University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust) and I occasionally meet student health professionals from other countries. In this case, three Italian students from Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy, were called down to see my hands.

However, they spent most of the time discussing why the syndrome has the word "foglium" when the Latin is folium and the Italian is foglia. Why a combination of both words?

My take on the matter was "Hey, I'm here, forget the pedantic derivation of the word!" They soon left, still muttering about the word.

I am none the wiser.

For a more lucid medical/scientific approach, please see this fascinating link