Word of the Week: Localized

Each week, Verywell explains a term from health, medicine, science, or technology.

Localized

How to say it: Localized (low-cul-eyesed)

What it means: Affecting just one part of the body.

Where it comes from: Latin, locus, "a place or spot"

Where you might see or hear it: If you get a rash on your hand, your healthcare provider might write in your medical notes that it is "localized" to just that part of your body.

However, if the rash was covering more parts of your body or was an "all-over" rash, your provider might write that it's a "generalized" rash.

When you might want to use it: If you find out your rash is from an infection, you could use the word localized to explain to your loved ones that only your hand is affected.

However, an infection that starts in one place may move to another. The word "disseminated" is used to describe when an infection in one part of the body starts to spread elsewhere.