bran; husks
General term for the outer layers of grains, such as rice bran or wheat husks. Rare in everyday conversation; more common terms like ぬか or ふすま are used instead.
Bran is removed during the rice-polishing process.
furfur; branny scale
Medical term for fine, bran-like scales on the skin, as in certain dermatological conditions. Used in compound words like 粃糠疹 (ひこうしん, pityriasis furfuracea).
See also: 粃糠疹
Pityriasis furfuracea is a condition that causes fine scaling on the skin.
pityriasis
The kanji 粃 means 'empty grain' or 'chaff', and 糠 means 'bran'. The compound is a classical Chinese-derived term for grain husks and bran. The medical sense is an extension based on the resemblance of skin scales to bran.