Abscesses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A localized area of infection where pus builds up within body tissues, usually resulting in pain, swelling, and potential redness in the affected region
2. An area characterized by the accumulation of pus due to bacterial infection, which can lead to inflammation and the need for treatment to alleviate symptoms
3. Pockets of pus forming in tissue as a result of infection, often causing swelling and tenderness

Etymology: "Abscesses" is simply the plural of "abscess," and the singular has a surprisingly literal origin: Latin "abscessus" meant "a going away." The Romans used it of humours, the bodily fluids believed to cause disease, which were thought to gather and then withdraw from the affected area toward a single point of collection. The word came from "abscēdere," formed from "abs" ("away from") and "cedere" ("go"), the same root that gives English "cede" and "recede." The medical sense, a collection of pus, grew out of that idea of humours moving away to pool in one place. Over time the Latin word's motion-based meaning dropped out of use, leaving only the swollen, painful pocket of infection it had come to name.

Synonyms: infections, cysts, lesions