Complications often occur with wounds, surgical interventions and various inflammatory pathologies. An infection is introduced or an additional pathological process is attached. These processes include abscess and infiltration. Despite the external similarity of these two pathological processes, it is necessary to clearly understand the difference between them.
Infiltration - is nothing but the accumulation of various cellular elements in living tissues with an admixture of lymph and blood, which change the density of the tissue. Tumor and inflammatory infiltrates occur most often. The inflammatory process is formed as a result of diapedesis and mainly consists of erythrocytes, lymphoid cells, as well as histiocytes and plasma cells. Such an infiltrate is capable of sclerosing, which leads to the formation of a cavity, scar or abscess. Tumor infiltration consists mainly of atypical cells and speaks of infiltrating tumor growth.
Abscess - purulent inflammation of tissues, characterized by the presence of purulent contents separated from the environment by a membrane. It can appear on the skin, tissues, organs and even in the space between them. The cause of its appearance is pyogenic microorganisms that enter the body through damaged tissues or mucous membranes. In addition, there are lymphogenous and hematogenous pathways for the spread of infection (with the flow of lymph and blood, respectively), which can lead to the formation of infiltration in the internal organs. The formation of a capsule (membrane) is nothing more than a protective reaction of the body, aimed at limiting the abscess from the surrounding healthy tissues.
The most important and decisive difference between infiltration and abscess is the presence of fluctuations - the ability to determine the accumulation of fluid in the pathological focus. The liquid in this case is the purulent content of the abscess, it is absent in the infiltrate. Another difference between infiltration and abscess lies in the etiology of the formation of these two pathological processes. Pyogenic microorganisms are responsible for the development of an abscess, and the infiltrate can be formed by both tumor cells and other cellular elements. The infiltrate has the possibility of scarring and melting, which can subsequently lead to the formation of an abscess.
Conclusions TheDifference.ru
- A purulent process is formed in the abscess cavity, while the infiltrated tissue has no infection. The presence of fluctuations is the main difference between the former and the latter.
- Infiltration develops as a result of diapedesis of blood cells (release of formed elements through intact vessel walls), and an abscess occurs when pyogenic microorganisms enter the body through damaged tissues and mucous membranes.
- The abscess is surrounded by a membrane, and the membrane is absent in the infiltrate.
