An abscess () is a collection of pus ( dead neutrophils ) that has accumulated in a cavity formed by the tissue in which the pus resides due to an infectious process ( usually caused by bacteria or parasites ) or other foreign materials ( e. g., splinters, bullet wounds, or injecting needles ).

One example of an abscess is a BCG-oma, which is caused because of incorrect administration of the BCG vaccine.

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.

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.

Surgical drainage of the abscess ( e. g., lancing ) is usually indicated once the abscess has developed from a harder serous inflammation to a softer pus stage.

In North America, after drainage, an abscess cavity is often packed.

( If the condition is thought to be cellulitis rather than abscess, consideration should be given to possibility of strep species as cause that are still sensitive to traditional anti-staphylococcus agents such as dicloxacillin or cephalexin in patients able to tolerate penicillin ).

It is important to note that antibiotic therapy alone without surgical drainage of the abscess is seldom effective due to antibiotics often being unable to get into the abscess and their ineffectiveness at low pH levels.

Brain abscess ( or cerebral abscess ) is an abscess caused by inflammation and collection of infected material, coming from local ( ear infection, dental abscess, infection of paranasal sinuses, infection of the mastoid air cells of the temporal bone, epidural abscess ) or remote ( lung, heart, kidney etc.

Brain abscess is usually associated with congenital heart disease in young children.

In cases of trauma, for example in compound skull fractures where fragments of bone are pushed into the substance of the brain, the cause of the abscess is obvious.

The location of the primary lesion may be suggested by the location of the abscess: infections of the middle ear result in lesions in the middle and posterior cranial fossae ; congenital heart disease with right-to-left shunts often result in abscesses in the distribution of the middle cerebral artery ; and infection of the frontal and ethmoid sinuses usually results in collection in the subdural sinuses.

Acute necrotizing pancreatitis can lead to a pancreatic abscess, a collection of pus caused by necrosis, liquefaction, and infection.

A brain or cerebral abscess, like other abscesses is caused by inflammation and collection of lymphatic cells and infected material originating from a local or remote infection.

A collection of pus is called an abscess, not a cyst.

Peritonsillar abscess ( PTA ), also called a quinsy or abbreviated as PTA is a recognized complication of tonsillitis and consists of a collection of pus beside the tonsil in what is referred to as Peritonsilar space ( Peri-meaning surrounding ).

Other complications include Bezold's abscess, an abscess ( a collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue ) behind the sternocleidomastoid muscle in the neck, or a subperiosteal abscess, between the periosteum and mastoid bone ( resulting in the typical appearance of a protruding ear ).

Numerous medical studies on treatment of these abscesses with antibiotics have been done with varying results, but the consensus is once pus is aspirated and analysed, provided no unusual bacilli are present, the abscess will generally heal on its own in a matter of weeks.

Lemierre's syndrome develops most often after a sore throat caused by some bacterium of the Streptococcus genus has created a peritonsillar abscess, a pocket filled with pus and bacteria near the tonsils.

# lack of anesthetic effect due to infectious pus such as an abscess.

Infection is rare, but, when it does occur, it might progress to become an abscess requiring the surgical drainage of the pus, whilst the patient is under general anaesthesia.

A carbuncle ( or ) is an abscess larger than a boil, usually with one or more openings draining pus onto the skin.

Neither condition involves pus or abscess formation.

If there is pus or an abscess involved, the infection may need to be incised and drained.

Any tissue or organ throughout the body may develop a pocket of infection and pus, called an abscess.

The medical complications possible to a liposclupture buttocks augmentation include the bodily resorption of some of the injected adipose fat, asymmetric contour of the corrected body area, an irregular contour to the body, seroma, abscess ( pus enclosed by inflamed tissue ), cellulitis ( subcutaneous connective-tissue inflammation ), and paresthesia.

Bezold's Abscess is an abscess in the sternocleidomastoid muscle where pus from a mastoiditis escapes into the sternocleidomastoid.

They are also used to treat abscess wounds, where a build-up of pus needs to be drawn out.

This wound typically becomes infected as a result of the normal presence of feces in the rectal area, and then develops into an abscess.

Surgery may be indicated when conservative treatment is not effective in reducing pain or when the patient develops progressive and functionally limiting neurologic symptoms such as leg weakness, bladder or bowel incontinence, which can be seen with severe central lumbar disc herniation causing cauda equina syndrome or spinal abscess.

As the abscess develops, persistent pain in the peritonsillar area, fever, malaise, headache and a distortion of vowels informally known as " hot potato voice " may appear.

It was once fatal before the CT era, now, if the abscess is treated before the person goes into a coma, then the death rate has been estimated from 5 % to 20 % although it is greater in cases of multiple abscesses, when raised intracranial pressure is observed and depending on the level of neurological dysfunction on presentation.

* Unal B, Kara S, Bilgili Y, Basar H, Yilmaz E, Batislam E. Giant abdominal wall abscess dissecting into thorax as a complication of ESWL.

The bacteria penetrate from the abscess into the neighboring jugular vein in the neck and there they cause an infected clot ( thrombosis ) to form, from which bacteria are seeded throughout the body by the bloodstream ( bacteremia ).

It can result in a local abscess, or perforation into the general peritoneal cavity.

In some cases of pleural effusion, the extra fluid gets infected and turns into an abscess.

Because of this, and the silver pipe John Locke had inserted into him to drain an abscess, he was popularly referred to as " Count Tapski ".

Some of these infections can develop into more serious abscesses that require incision with a scalpel, drainage of the abscess, and antibiotics.

Hill died in 1931 from natural causes, diagnosed as " an abscess of the lesser peritoneal cavity which had ruptured into the stomach, producing ' fatal terminal hemorrhages '.

Use of antibiotic prophylaxis, surgical abscess drainage, and vaccination lead to the term " fatal " being dropped from the name of the disease as children survived into adulthood.

If that seal fails to form for any reason, fluid from within the gastrointestinal tract can leak into the sterile abdominal cavity and give rise to infection and abscess formation.

Antibiotics often have difficulties getting into an abscess, and do not work well because of a low pH ; evacuation through a drainage-channel, on the other hand, will remove a large number of bacteria and thus greatly aid the resolution of the infection.

Treatment is by expression of the gland, lancing of an abscess, and oral antibiotics and antibiotic infusion into the gland in the case of infection.

Lung abscess is considered primary ( 60 %) when it results from existing lung parenchymal process and is termed secondary when it complicates another process e. g. vascular emboli or follows rupture of extrapulmonary abscess into lung.

In technical terms, The Fistula in Ano, without any regard to the strict definition of the word, is understood to be an Abscess, running upon, or into the Intestinum Rectum ; though an abscess in this part, when once ruptured, does generally, if neglected, grow callous in its cavity and edges, and become at last, what is properly called a Fistula ; this condition is now diagnosed as a sacrococcygeal fistula, more commonly known as a pilonidal cyst ( This developed due to long amounts of time sitting on a horse.

< ref name =" Surgery "> Ironically, one of the first Craniotomes ever used in surgery was used to operate on John Bent himself, who required life-saving neurosurgery for a brain abscess that was discovered around the time the tool was being put into production.