Abscess a Case Study
I. Introduction of Disease
An abscess (Latin: abscessus) is a collection of pus (dead neutrophils) that has accumulated in a cavity formed by the tissue on the basis of an infectious process (usually caused by bacteria orparasites) or other foreign materials (e.g. splinters, bullet wounds, or injecting needles). It is adefensive reaction of the tissue to prevent the spread of infectious materials to other parts of the body.
The organisms or foreign materials kill the local cells, resulting in the release of cytokines. The cytokines trigger an inflammatory response, which draws large numbers of white blood cells to the area and increases the regional blood flow.
The final structure of the abscess is an abscess wall, or capsule, that is formed by the adjacent healthy cells in an attempt to keep the pus from infecting neighboring structures. However, such encapsulation tends to prevent immune cells from attacking bacteria in the pus, or from reaching the causative organism or foreign object.
Abscesses must be differentiated from empyemas, which are accumulations of pus in a preexisting rather than a newly formed anatomical cavity.
Manifestations
The cardinal symptoms and signs of any kind of inflammatory process are redness (rubor), heat (calor), swelling (tumor), pain (dolor) and loss of function. Abscesses may occur in any kind of solid tissue but most frequently on skin surface (where they may be superficial pustules (boils) or deep skin abscesses), in the lungs, brain, teeth, kidneys and tonsils. Major complications are spreading of the abscess material to adjacent or remote tissues and extensive regional tissue death (gangrene). Abscesses in most parts of the body rarely heal themselves, so prompt medical attention is indicated at the first suspicion of an abscess. An abscess could potentially be fatal (although this is rare) if it compresses vital structures such as the trachea in the context of a deep neck abscess.[citation needed]
Treatment
Wound
An abscess (Latin: abscessus) is a collection of pus (dead neutrophils) that has accumulated in a cavity formed by the tissue on the basis of an infectious process (usually caused by bacteria orparasites) or other foreign materials (e.g. splinters, bullet wounds, or injecting needles). It is adefensive reaction of the tissue to prevent the spread of infectious materials to other parts of the body.
The organisms or foreign materials kill the local cells, resulting in the release of cytokines. The cytokines trigger an inflammatory response, which draws large numbers of white blood cells to the area and increases the regional blood flow.
The final structure of the abscess is an abscess wall, or capsule, that is formed by the adjacent healthy cells in an attempt to keep the pus from infecting neighboring structures. However, such encapsulation tends to prevent immune cells from attacking bacteria in the pus, or from reaching the causative organism or foreign object.
Abscesses must be differentiated from empyemas, which are accumulations of pus in a preexisting rather than a newly formed anatomical cavity.
Manifestations
The cardinal symptoms and signs of any kind of inflammatory process are redness (rubor), heat (calor), swelling (tumor), pain (dolor) and loss of function. Abscesses may occur in any kind of solid tissue but most frequently on skin surface (where they may be superficial pustules (boils) or deep skin abscesses), in the lungs, brain, teeth, kidneys and tonsils. Major complications are spreading of the abscess material to adjacent or remote tissues and extensive regional tissue death (gangrene). Abscesses in most parts of the body rarely heal themselves, so prompt medical attention is indicated at the first suspicion of an abscess. An abscess could potentially be fatal (although this is rare) if it compresses vital structures such as the trachea in the context of a deep neck abscess.[citation needed]
Treatment
Wound