In mathematics, a topological space is called collectionwise normal if for every discrete family Fi (i ∈ I) of closed subsets of there exists a pairwise disjoint family of open sets Ui (i ∈ I), such that Fi ⊂ Ui. A family of subsets of is called discrete when every point of has a neighbourhood that intersects at most one of the sets from . An equivalent definition demands that the above Ui (i ∈ I) are themselves a discrete family, which is stronger than pairwise disjoint.