The medical term for bruise is contusion, which describes an injury from a blow that breaks small blood vessels under unbroken skin. When clinicians describe the flat purple, blue or yellow patch itself, they often write ecchymosis, and the plural is ecchymoses.
The two words overlap but are not identical. Contusion points to the injury and can apply to deeper tissue, such as a bone or lung contusion, while ecchymosis describes how the skin looks, whatever the cause. Bruising has a family of related terms sorted by size and shape, and this page lays them out side by side so a note about bruising makes sense.
At a glance
Medical terms
Contusion; ecchymosisPlural or forms
Contusions; ecchymoses; adjective ecchymoticWord roots
Contusion from Latin for to crush or pound; ecchymosis from Greek for blood pouring outSmaller relatives
Petechiae and purpuraRaised relative
Hematoma, a pooled collection of bloodUsed in
Exam notes, trauma notes, nursing skin checks
Contusion and ecchymosis: the medical term for bruise in context
A contusion happens when force crushes soft tissue without tearing the skin. Tiny vessels break and blood leaks into the surrounding tissue, which causes the color and tenderness. The term is used for skin and muscle, and also for injuries deeper inside, such as a cerebral contusion in the brain or a pulmonary contusion in the lung after a car crash.
Ecchymosis is a descriptive word. It names a flat area of discoloration from blood under the skin, usually larger than about a centimeter. It can follow an injury, but it can also appear with little or no trauma, for example in people taking blood thinners or with low platelets. That is why exam notes often say ecchymosis while trauma notes say contusion.
Bruise relatives sorted by size
Clinicians sort skin bleeding by size and shape. The cutoffs below are approximate, and different textbooks draw the lines a little differently.
| Term | What it looks like | Rough size |
|---|---|---|
| Petechiae | Pinpoint red or purple dots that do not fade when pressed | A few millimeters or less |
| Purpura | Small purple patches | Between petechiae and ecchymosis |
| Ecchymosis | Flat bruise, purple to green to yellow | Larger than about 1 cm |
| Hematoma | Raised, firm swelling from pooled blood | Any size |
A hematoma is a step beyond a bruise: the blood collects in a pocket, so you can feel a lump. Doctors may follow a large one closely or drain it in some cases.
How bruises appear in real notes
Emergency note after a fall: "GLF at home, contusion R hip, no fx on x ray." This reads as a ground level fall, a bruise to the right hip, and no broken bone on the x ray. See GLF and FX for those abbreviations.
Nurses doing a skin check often describe size, color and location, such as "2 x 3 cm yellow green ecchymosis to left shin." Color gives a loose idea of age: fresh bruises look red or purple, then blue, then green and yellow as the body clears the blood. Clinicians are careful not to date a bruise exactly from color alone, because healing differs widely between people.
When bruising prompts more questions
Easy bruising, bruises in unusual places or bruises with no clear cause may lead a clinician to look further. Common checks include a CBC to count platelets and clotting tests, for example the INR and the PTT. Medicines such as warfarin, aspirin, clopidogrel and other blood thinners make bruising more likely, as can steroids and thinning skin with age.
Bruising alongside bleeding gums, frequent nosebleeds, blood in urine or stool, or a bruise after a head injury is worth reporting to a clinician promptly.
A note for students
Spelling trips people up. Ecchymosis has two c's and an h after them; the plural ends in es. Petechiae is plural, and a single dot is a petechia. In charting, describe what you see in measurable terms rather than writing bruise alone, and leave judgment about cause to the provider. More plain to clinical word pairs live in the medical terminology guide.
Bruises have many causes, most of them minor. If a bruise or a pattern of bruising concerns you, a doctor or nurse can examine it and decide whether any testing makes sense.
Frequently asked questions
What do clinicians call a bruise?
The usual medical term is contusion. A flat patch of discolored skin from blood underneath is also called ecchymosis.
What is the medical term for bruising easily?
Clinicians may write easy bruising or a tendency to bruise. When the skin shows many bruises, notes may say multiple ecchymoses, and the workup looks for causes such as low platelets or blood thinning medicines.
Is a hematoma the same as a bruise?
Not quite. A bruise is blood spread flat through the tissue, while a hematoma is blood collected in a pocket that forms a raised lump.
What is the difference between contusion and ecchymosis?
Contusion names the injury from a blow, and it can affect deep organs as well as skin. Ecchymosis describes the flat discolored patch on the skin, whatever caused it.
What are the medical terms for bruises of different sizes?
Pinpoint spots are petechiae, small patches are purpura, and larger flat bruises are ecchymoses. The exact size limits vary slightly between references.