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pus

(pŭs)

A generally viscous, yellowish-white fluid formed in infected tissue, consisting of white blood cells, cellular debris, and necrotic tissue.

[Latin pūs.]

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Dental Dictionary: pus

(pus)
n

An inflammatory exudate formed within the tissues consisting of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, degenerated and liquefied tissue elements, microorganisms, and tissue fluids. It may form within the tissues in periodontitis and escape via the ulcerated pocket epithelium into the oral environment. The suppurative material may be retained within the tissues when the orifice of the periodontal pocket is blocked, thus creating a favorable circumstance for the formation of a periodontal abscess.

Sports Science and Medicine: pus

A thick yellow product of inflammation consisting of dead leucocytes, bacteria, cell debris, and tissue fluid.

Columbia Encyclopedia: pus,

thick white or yellowish fluid that forms in areas of infection such as wounds and abscesses. It is constituted of decomposed body tissue, bacteria (or other micro-organisms that cause the infection), and certain white blood cells. These white cells form one of the defense mechanisms of the body. Known as phagocytes, they rush to the area of infection and engulf the invading bacteria in a process called phagocytosis. Many white cells themselves succumb in the process and become one of the constituents of pus.

Veterinary Dictionary: pus

A protein-rich liquid inflammation product made up of cells (leukocytes), a thin fluid (liquor puris) and cellular debris.

blue p. — pus with a bluish tint, seen in certain suppurative infections, the color occurring as a result of the presence of an antibiotic pigment (pyocyanin) produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
p. in milk — indicates complete destruction of the mammary secretory tissue.

Word Tutor: pus

IN BRIEF: A yellowish fluid that forms at a site of infection or injury.

Keep your wound clean and report any formation of pus to the doctor.

Wikipedia: pus

For the UK punk rock band, see P*U*S.

"PUS" is also the IATA code for Gimhae International Airport.

Pus is a whitish-yellow or yellow substance produced during inflammatory responses of the body that can be found in regions of pyogenic bacterial infections. An accumulation of pus in an enclosed tissue space is known as an abscess. A visible collection of pus within or beneath the epidermis, on the other hand, is known as a pustule or pimple. Pus is produced from the dead and living cells which travel into the intercellular spaces around the affected cells.

Something that creates pus is called suppurative, pyogenic, or purulent. If it creates mucus as well as pus, it is called mucopurulent.

Pus consists of a thin, protein-rich fluid, known as liquor puris, and dead cells, which are part of the body's innate immune response. Neutrophils are produced in the bone marrow and released into the blood. When the need to fight infection arises, they move to the site of infection by a process known as chemotaxis, usually triggered by cytokine release from macrophages that sense invading organisms. At the site of infection they engulf and kill bacteria. Eventually, the neutrophils die, and these dead cells are then phagocytosed by macrophages, which break them down further. Pus, therefore, is the viscous material composed of these dead neutrophils.

Neutrophils are the most abundant type of leukocyte in human blood, composing anywhere between 40% to 75% of leukocytes.

When seen in a wound or dry skin, pus indicates the area is infected and should be cleaned with antiseptic.

Despite normally being of a whitish-yellow hue, changes in the color of pus can be observed under certain circumstances. Blue pus is found in certain infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a result of the pyocyanin bacterial pigment it produces; amoebic abscesses of the liver, meanwhile, produce brownish pus. Pus might have a reddish tint to it after mixing with blood. Pus also can have an odour.

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Sports Science and Medicine. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Copyright © Michael Kent 1998, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
		Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved. Read more
		Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved. eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pus". Read more
		Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more

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