Sclero- (prefix)

Sclero- (or scler-) is a confusing prefix because it can refer exclusively to hardness (from the Greek "skleros" meaning hard) but it can also refer to the sclera of the eye. So, sclerodactyly is localized thickening and tightness of the skin of the fingers or toes and scleroderma is disease of connective tissue with the formation of scar tissue (fibrosis) in the skin with hardening of the skin. By contrast, scleroconjunctival relates to the sclera and the conjunctiva of the eye, sclerokeratitis refers to inflammation of the sclera and cornea and scleromalacia pertains to degenerative thinning of the sclera.