A medical tattoo is a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...

used to treat a condition, communicate information, or mark a body location.

Historical uses

A crude practice of corneal tattooing was performed by

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one ...

in 150 CE. He tried to cover leucomatous opacities of the cornea by cauterizing the surface with a heated stilet and applying powdered nutgalls and iron or pulverized pomegranate bark mixed with copper salt; the practice was revived in the 1800s. With the rise of Christianity, tattooing declined and eventually became banned by a papal edict in 787 CE. The practice of corneal tattooing was revived by Louis de Wecker in the 1870s.

To provide medical information

During the Cold War, threats of nuclear warfare led several U.S. states to consider blood type tattooing. Programs were spurred in Chicago, Utah and Indiana based on the premise that if an atomic bomb were to strike, the resulting damage would require extremely large amounts of blood within a short amount of time. Similar to

dog tags Dog tag is an informal but common term for a specific type of identification tag worn by military personnel. The tags' primary use is for the identification of casualties; they have information about the individual written on them, including i ...

, members of the U.S. military may have their vital information tattooed on themselves, usually on the

rib cage The rib cage, as an enclosure that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, protects vital organs such as the heart, lungs and great vessels. The sternum, together known as the thoracic cage, is a sem ...

below the armpit; they are referred to as "meat tags". Tattoos have also been used to provide notice to emergency personnel that a person has

diabetes mellitus Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

; people with this condition may fall into a diabetic coma and be unable to communicate that information.

For radiation treatment

Tattoos have been used as

fiducial marker A fiducial marker or fiducial is an object placed in the field of view of an imaging system that appears in the image produced, for use as a point of reference or a measure. It may be either something placed into or on the imaging subject, or a m ...

s as an aid in guiding radiotherapy. Similarly, Scott Kelly utilized marker tattoos in the positioning of sonogram probes for multiple checks for

atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usually no s ...

while on a long-duration mission on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...

Paramedical tattoos

A paramedical tattoo is a cosmetic tattoo applied because of a medical condition or to disguise the results of its treatment. During

breast reconstruction Breast reconstruction is the surgical process of rebuilding the shape and look of a breast, most commonly in women who have had surgery to treat breast cancer. It involves using autologous tissue, prosthetic implants, or a combination of both wit ...

after

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...

(removal of the breast for treatment of cancer), or breast reduction surgery, tattooing is sometimes used to replace the

areola The human areola (''areola mammae'', or ) is the pigmented area on the breast around the nipple. Areola, more generally, is a small circular area on the Human body, body with a different histology from the surrounding Tissue (biology), tissu ...

which has been removed during mastectomy, or to fill in areas of pigment loss which may occur during breast reduction performed with a free nipple graft technique. Since September 2011, the

Royal Derby Hospital Royal Derby Hospital is one of two teaching hospitals in the city of Derby, the other being the London Road Community Hospital. It is managed by the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. History The original hospital o ...

offers free nipple tattoos for breast surgery patients in order to mask the scars of surgery. The purchase of the tattoo device was funded by the Ashbourne Breast Cancer Walk. Vinnie Myers of Little Vinnie's Tattoos in

Finksburg, Maryland Finksburg is an unincorporated community in Carroll County, Maryland, United States. It is the location of the National Security Agency's EKMS Central Facility. Finksburg is located at the intersection of Maryland Routes 91 and 140, on the bor ...

, has performed nipple tattoos on over 5,000 women who have undergone surgery for breast cancer, including those of Caitlin Kiernan, who wrote a story about Mr. Myers in ''The New York Times''. A similar service offered without charge in 2017 by a cosmetic tattooist in the UK was booked up six months ahead. Another option some people choose after mastectomy is to get a decorative tattoo on the chest as body art instead of a reconstruction. Other uses include simulating the appearance of fingernails and covering scars. Micropigmentation (

permanent makeup Permanent makeup is a cosmetic technique which employs tattoos (permanent pigmentation of the dermis) as a means of producing designs that resemble makeup, such as eye-lining and other permanent enhancing colors to the skin of the face, lips, a ...

) can be used to reduce the visibility of

vitiligo Vitiligo is a disorder that causes the skin to lose its color. Specific causes are unknown but studies suggest a link to immune system changes. Signs and symptoms The only sign of vitiligo is the presence of pale patchy areas of depigmen ...

areas on the skin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medical Tattoo Tattooing and medicine

Historical uses

To provide medical information

For radiation treatment

Paramedical tattoos

See also

References