What is "genital wart"

n. (context in the plural English) A highly contagious sexually transmitted infection. Caused by some types of human papillomavirus.

n. a small benign wart on or around the genitals and anus [syn: venereal wart, condyloma acuminatum, verruca acuminata]

Genital warts are symptoms of a contagious sexually transmitted disease caused by some types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Warts are the most easily recognized symptom of genital HPV infection. About 90% of those who contract HPV will not develop genital warts, and the remaining 10% who are infected can transmit the virus.

HPV types 6 and 11 are most frequently the cause of genital warts. It is spread through direct skin-to-skin contact, usually during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner. While some types of HPV cause cervical cancer and anal cancers, these are not the same types of HPV that cause genital warts.

The some HPV vaccines includes coverage for types 6 and 11 and therefore can prevent genital warts. It is also possible to be infected with different types of HPV either at the same or different times.

Although estimates of the number of new cases a year vary, HPV is so common that nearly all sexually active people will get it at some point in their lives. A condyloma acuminatum is a single genital wart, and condylomata acuminata are multiple genital warts. The word roots mean "pointed wart" (from Greek κόνδυλος, "knuckle", Greek -ωμα -oma, "disease," and Latin acuminatum "pointed"). Although similarly named, it is not the same as condyloma latum, which is a complication of secondary syphilis.