(medicine) A chronic eruption of red patches accompanied by intense itching that usually begins in infancy but may continue into adult life; the disease has a genetic predisposition, but its expression is modified by environmental factors.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.