Throat Disorders—Abscess

An abscess is a pocket of pus. You can get an abscess almost anywhere in your body. When an area of your body becomes infected, your body’s immune system tries to fight the infection. White blood cells go to the infected area, collect within the damaged tissue, and cause inflammation. During this process, pus forms. Pus is a mixture of living and dead white blood cells, germs, and dead tissue.

Bacteria, viruses, parasites and swallowed objects can all lead to abscesses. Skin abscesses are easy to detect. They are red, raised and painful. Abscesses inside your body may not be obvious and can damage organs, including the brain, lungs and others. Treatments include drainage and antibiotics.

• Abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Abscess scan – radioactive (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Amebic liver abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Anorectal abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Bartholin cyst or abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Brain abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Epidural abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Intra-abdominal abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Pancreatic abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Perirenal abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Peritonsillar abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Pilonidal cyst resection (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Pyogenic liver abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Retropharyngeal abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Skin abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Subareolar abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Tooth abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)

Also called: Pharyngeal disorders

Your throat is a tube that carries food to your esophagus and air to your windpipe and larynx. The technical name for your throat is the pharynx.

Throat problems are common. You’ve probably had a sore throat. The cause is usually a viral infection, but other causes include allergies, infection with strep bacteria or the leaking of stomach acids back up into the esophagus, called GERD.

Other problems that affect the throat include

• Tonsillitis – inflammation of the tonsils
• Cancer
• Croup – inflammation, usually in small children, which causes a barking cough
• Laryngitis – swelling of the voice box, which can cause a hoarse voice or loss of voice

Most throat problems are minor and go away on their own. Treatments, when needed, depend on the problem.

• Blockage of upper airway (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Epiglottitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Herpangina (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Laryngitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Laryngoscopy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Retropharyngeal abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Strep throat (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Throat swab culture (Medical Encyclopedia)