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There are two types of abscesses, septic and sterile. Most abscesses are septic, which means that they are the result of an infection. Septic abscesses can occur anywhere in the body. Only a germ and the body’s immune response are required. In response to the invading germ, white blood cells gather at the infected site and begin producing chemicals called enzymes that attack the germ by digesting it. These enzymes act like acid, killing the germs and breaking them down into small pieces that can be picked up by the circulation and eliminated from the body. Unfortunately, these chemicals also digest body tissues. In most cases, the germ produces similar chemicals.
The result is a thick, yellow liquid&mdash
us—containing digested germs, digested tissue, white blood cells, and enzymes. An abscess is the last stage of a tissue infection that begins with a process called inflammation. Initially, as the invading germ activates the body’s immune system, several events occur:
• Blood flow to the area increases.
• The temperature of the area increases due to the increased blood supply.
• The area swells due to the accumulation of water, blood, and other liquids.
• It turns red.
• It hurts, because of the irritation from the swelling and the chemical activity.
These four signs—heat, swelling, redness, and pain— characterize inflammation. As the process progresses, the tissue begins to turn to liquid, and an abscess forms. It is the nature of an abscess to spread as the chemical digestion liquefies more and more tissue.
Furthermore, the spreading follows the path of least resistance—the tissues most easily digested. A good example is an abscess just beneath the skin. It most easily continues along beneath the skin rather than working its way through the skin where it could drain its toxic contents.
The contents of the abscess also leak into the general circulation and produce symptoms just like any other infection. These include chills, fever, aching, and general discomfort. Sterile abscesses are sometimes a milder form of the same process caused not by germs but by non-living irritants such as drugs. If an injected drug like penicillin is not absorbed, it stays where it was injected and may cause enough irritation to generate a sterile abscess— sterile because there is no infection involved. Sterile abscesses are quite likely to turn into hard, solid lumps as they scar, rather than remaining pockets of pus.
The result is a thick, yellow liquid&mdash
• Blood flow to the area increases.
• The temperature of the area increases due to the increased blood supply.
• The area swells due to the accumulation of water, blood, and other liquids.
• It turns red.
• It hurts, because of the irritation from the swelling and the chemical activity.
These four signs—heat, swelling, redness, and pain— characterize inflammation. As the process progresses, the tissue begins to turn to liquid, and an abscess forms. It is the nature of an abscess to spread as the chemical digestion liquefies more and more tissue.
Furthermore, the spreading follows the path of least resistance—the tissues most easily digested. A good example is an abscess just beneath the skin. It most easily continues along beneath the skin rather than working its way through the skin where it could drain its toxic contents.
The contents of the abscess also leak into the general circulation and produce symptoms just like any other infection. These include chills, fever, aching, and general discomfort. Sterile abscesses are sometimes a milder form of the same process caused not by germs but by non-living irritants such as drugs. If an injected drug like penicillin is not absorbed, it stays where it was injected and may cause enough irritation to generate a sterile abscess— sterile because there is no infection involved. Sterile abscesses are quite likely to turn into hard, solid lumps as they scar, rather than remaining pockets of pus.
