Ophiasis is a form of alopecia areata

Alopecia areata

Alopecia areata is a medical condition in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body, usually from the scalp. Because it causes bald spots on the scalp, especially in the first stages, it is sometimes called spot baldness. In 1–2% of cases, the condition can spread to the entire scalp ...

 characterized by the loss of hair in the shape of a wave at the circumference of the head.

It gets its name from "ophis", which is the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 word for snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

, because of the apparent similarity to a snake-shape and the pattern of hair loss.

The term "sisaipho" is used to characterize the inverse pattern. Sisaipho is the reverse spelling of ophiasis. It is also called "ophiasis inversus".

Ophiasis has poor prognostic significance.