Abscess

Last updated on: 29.10.2020

Dieser Artikel auf Deutsch

Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please login to access all articles, images, and functions.

Our content is available exclusively to medical professionals. If you have already registered, please login. If you haven't, you can register for free (medical professionals only).


Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please complete your registration to access all articles and images.

To gain access, you must complete your registration. You either haven't confirmed your e-mail address or we still need proof that you are a member of the medical profession.

Finish your registration now

DefinitionThis section has been translated automatically.

An abscess is an accumulation of pus in the body tissue as in the case of pocket abscess, tooth abscess, tongue abscess, periodontal abscess, pulp abscess or jaw abscess. Abscesses are delimited inflammations which melt away after 4-5 days and become centrally purulent. As abscess treatment the first step is the incision or cutting of the membrane.

An abscess is a tissue melting caused by pus bacteria and is an accumulation of pus (pus) around which the body has formed a capsule (boil, pus blister or pus cavity).

A distinction is made between superficial abscesses, which usually form visibly in the skin after an injury or blockage of the pores, and abscesses that develop in and on the internal organs or sit deeper in the skin and thus affect the jawbone, so that an inflammation of the jawbone can develop. The ulcer (ulcer) can develop in any organ and anywhere in the soft tissue under the skin.

ClassificationThis section has been translated automatically.

A distinction is made in dentistry:

  • gingival abscess
  • periodontal abscess and
  • pericoronal abscess around the crown of the tooth.

An abscess can only heal if it is cut open and the pus is drained, because the encapsulation makes it difficult to take up medication, which makes it necessary to cut it out.

Superficial abscesses show a typical inflammatory reaction with warming in the surrounding area, cold abscesses are rare as in tuberculosis. Around an abscess, the body builds a protective wall of granulation tissue, the so-called abscess membrane. In this wall the body concentrates defence cells. If an abscess is not treated sufficiently, it can empty itself through the skin and break into hollow organs, spread through the bloodstream, cause a brain abscess or other organ abscesses and can also lead to death through blood poisoning (sepsis).

PathophysiologyThis section has been translated automatically.

The cause of the abscess is usually an infection of the tissue with bacteria (mostly staphylococci or streptococci).

Besides root abscesses, granulomas, there are also gingival pocket abscesses, so called periodontal abscesses.

Besides eliminating the causes, the abscess must be opened from the oral cavity, with an incision. Antibiotics may still be useful in the initial stage, but otherwise they only serve to shield the abscess from the surrounding tissue in the case of reduced general condition. The causes are mostly inflammation of the tooth root, foreign bodies or infected gum pockets. Limited, self-contained accumulation of pus (pus tumor) in the tissue caused by bacteria. Dental causes are root abscesses and gingival pocket abscesses. Treatment is carried out by administering antibiotics and eliminating the causes by cleaning bacterial foci.

Different terms for abscess:

  • Jaw abscess
  • Pulpa abscess
  • Periodontal abscess
  • Pocket abscess
  • Tongue abscess
  • Dental abscess

Last updated on: 29.10.2020