Gangrene
Gangrene is a historical name for all types of wound infections and their sequelae. Other names were also hospital fire, wet hospital fire and tan. The type of pathogen ( bacterial , viral , other), the spread (local, systemic) and the severity did not play a role in this antiquated, generalizing name. In the modern system, however, a distinction is made according to these factors, so that nowadays there is a variety of independent medical terms and gradations that would have been summarized under "gangrene" at that time. Such a later fragmentation of historical collective terms can often be observed in the history of medicine .
Some examples of the term "gangrene" today:
| term | Classification according to | description |
|---|---|---|
| abscess | Pathomechanism, type of pathogen | Local meltdown of tissue, almost exclusively caused by bacteria. |
| Erysipelas | Spread, type of pathogen | Localized infection of the upper layers of the skin by bacteria. |
| Phlegmon | Spread, type of pathogen | Diffuse soft tissue infection, almost exclusively caused by bacteria. |
| gangrene | Pathomechanism | Tissue death due to a circulatory disorder, which can have various causes. Gangrene can be dry (uninfected) or wet (infected). |
| sepsis | Spread | Non-specific term for the body's reaction to a generalized infection; the type of pathogen does not matter. Common final stretch of escalating infectious diseases. Different degrees of severity. |
| Gas fire | Pathogen type | Trivial name for the advanced infectious-toxic stage of an infection with Clostridia (especially Clostridium perfringens ), based on a local focus. |
All local infectious phenomena (from this list e.g. abscess, erysipelas, phlegmon, moist gangrene) can lead to systemic complications (sepsis) if they spread.
literature
- Mommsen, Bleese, Schumpelick (eds.): Short textbook surgery . Ferdinand Enke Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-13-127125-6 .
- Classen, Diehl, Kochsiek: Internal medicine . Urban & Fischer, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-541-11673-0 .
- Hof, Dörries: Dual Series: Medical Microbiology . Thieme, Stuttgart 2002
Individual evidence
- ↑ Georg Sticker : Hippokrates: The common diseases first and third book (around the year 434-430 BC). Translated from the Greek, introduced and explained by Georg Sticker. Johann Ambrosius Barth, Leipzig 1923 (= Classics of Medicine. Volume 29); Unchanged reprint: Central antiquariat of the German Democratic Republic, Leipzig 1968, p. 124 f.