pus

(pŭs)

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[L.]
Protein-rich fluid (exudate) containing white blood cells, esp. neutrophils, and cell debris produced during inflammation. It commonly is caused by infection with pyogenic (pus-forming) bacteria such as streptococci, staphylococci, gonococci, and pneumococci. Normally, pus is yellow; red pus may contain blood from the rupture of small vessels, and bluish-green pus may contain Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Pus that has been walled off by a membrane is called an abscess.
SYN: SEE: suppuration
SEE: purulence; SEE: abscess

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