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Phlegmon is a spreading diffuse inflammatory process with formation of suppurative/purulent exudate or pus. This is the result of acute purulent inflammation which may be related to bacterial infection, however the term 'phlegmon' mostly refers to a walled-off inflammatory mass without bacterial infection, one that may be palpable on physical examination. An example would be phlegmon of diverticulitis. In this case a patient would present to the emergency department with left lower-quadrant abdominal tenderness, and the diagnosis of sigmoid diverticulitis would be high on the differential diagnosis, yet the best test to confirm it would be CT scan.〔Sabiston textbook of surgery board review, 7th edition. Chapter 44 colon and rectum, question 3〕 Another example, phlegmon affecting the spine, is known as spondylodiscitis and is associated with endplate destruction and loss of disc height. In adults, the bone marrow is affected first, while in children, the disease starts in the disc itself and spreads rapidly to the adjacent vertebral bodies. Phlegmon in the spine can be a diffuse enhancement, or localized abscess, (peripheral enhancement) in the epidural, subligamentous or paraspinous spaces. Under MRI examination, phlegmon will show dark with T1, and high signal (bright) with T2. ==Signs and symptom== #Systemic features of infection such as increased body temperature (up to 38-40 °C), general fatigue, chills, sweatings, headache, loss of appetite). #Inflammatory signs – dolor (localized pain), calor (increase local tissue temperature), rubor (skin redness/hyperemia), tumor (either clear or non-clear bordered tissue swelling), functio laesa (diminish affected function). NB: severity of patient condition with phlegmons is directly proportional to the degree of intoxication level i.e. the more severe the condition, the higher the degree of intoxication level. A noninfectious occurrence of phlegmon can be found in the acute pancreatitis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. The immunosuppressive aspects of this disease and the immunosuppressive medications used to treat it blunt each of the signs of infection.〔Lalani TA, Kanne JP. “Imaging Findings in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.” RadioGraphics, July 2004. 24,1069-1086. PMID 15256629.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「phlegmon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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