Abscess

Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 1: A to Beaufort, p. 19–20
A circular illustration of the Gnostic deity Abraxas. He is depicted as a man with a long, flowing beard and hair, wearing a simple tunic. He holds a long staff in his right hand and a circular shield in his left. At his feet, a small, winged creature, possibly a cherub or a bird, is shown. The entire figure is enclosed within a circular border.
A circular illustration of the Gnostic deity Abraxas. He is depicted as a man with a long, flowing beard and hair, wearing a simple tunic. He holds a long staff in his right hand and a circular shield in his left. At his feet, a small, winged creature, possibly a cherub or a bird, is shown. The entire figure is enclosed within a circular border.

Abscess (technically called Apostema), a circumscribed collection of purulent matter formed by disease within some tissue or organ of the body. The process by which an abscess is formed is the following: First, the capillary vessels become overcharged with blood, in consequence of inflammation. From the blood thus made stagnant, or flowing very feebly, a much larger amount of fluid than in health, with numerous white blood-corpuscles, exudes through the walls of the capillary vessels, and becomes Pus (q.v.) or matter. This matter, at first contained in the minute interstices of the tissues, gradually dissolves them, and so makes for itself a larger cavity; and frequently, by disintegration of the adjacent parts, works its way either to the surface or to some natural cavity of the body. Pus thus makes its appearance often in a different part of the body from where it was formed. The abscess cavity is bounded by an inflamed and swollen layer of tissue; not, however, containing pus. Occasionally, when the purulent matter does not find any outlet either naturally or artificially, it is gradually dried up or absorbed. In the great majority of cases, however, cure only takes place after the pus has been discharged. Abscesses may be acute, forming in a few days with much pain; or chronic or cold, taking weeks or months to form, with little or no pain. In abscesses superficially seated—either in or close under the skin—the early treatment consists chiefly in promoting the formation of pus by the application of moist and warm bandages or poultices. The next step is the removal of the pus. When this is too long delayed, serious disturbance of the organ, and destruction of surrounding structures, may ensue. An abscess must be regarded not as a distinct, original disease in itself, but as the result of another disease—inflammation; or as an effort of nature for the removal of injurious matters from the system. Abscess is now known in many cases to be caused by the presence of microscopic organisms (micrococci, bacteria) in the tissues. See GERM THEORY, SUPPURATION.

Source scan(s): p. 0032, p. 0033