This word comes directly from the Latin “cicatrix,” meaning “scar” or “bruise,” and it can refer to a scar on flesh, or a mark left on a tree or plant after a cut has grown over. A cicatrix on the body has a job in healing. In the early stages of recovering from injury, the body first generates a fresh layer of delicate tissue to protect the wound, before gradually developing a cicatrix that will be strong enough to protect the area from harder pressure, stretching, or scratching. The tissue that develops into a cicatrix, or scar, is slightly different from the original skin. A cicatrix is often a different color or texture than the skin around it.