Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About 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.
It sits within Infections.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Abscess
353 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Abdominal aBscess Catheter Sclerotherapy (ABCS)University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Radiological Diagnosis of Pediatric Neck SwellingsSohag University
- Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole vs. Clindamycin for the Treatment of Children With Invasive MRSA InfectionsIndiana University
- Antibiotics After Incision and Drainage to Prevent Fistula Formation After First Episode of Perianal AbscessUniversity of Illinois at Chicago
- Prospective Evaluation Of High-Dose Systemic Methotrexate In Patients With Breast Cancer And Leptomeningeal MetastasisWake Forest University Health Sciences
- Biological, Radiographic and Clinical Evaluation of Various Inter-Visit Root Canal Dressings in Retreatment CasesAin Shams University
Research already completed
- "Is Antibiotic Therapy Necessary for Patients Undergoing Extraction of Teeth With Abscess?"Subbaiah Institute of Dental Sciences
- Retention and Re-Engagement in Treatment for Addiction Following Serious Injection Related Infections (RETAIN)Boston Medical Center
- Honey as an Adjunctive Wound Care Modality for Deep Neck Space AbscessGadjah Mada University
- Bacterial Profile Changes During Different Sodium Hypochlorite Irrigation Regimens and Calcium Hydroxide Medicament in Root Canal TreatmentHasanuddin University
- Comparison of Standard Incision and Drainage Versus Percutaneous Suction Drainage in the Management of Acute Breast AbscessGSVM Medical College
- Pyogenic Liver Abcess in GuadeloupeCentre Hospitalier Universitaire de la Guadeloupe
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- AbscessVisualDX
- Skin AbscessesNemours Foundation
Diagnosis and Tests
- Computed Tomography (CT) EnterographyRadiological Society of North America
- MR EnterographyRadiological Society of North America
Treatments and Therapies
- Percutaneous Abscess DrainageRadiological Society of North America
Related Issues
- Hidradenitis SuppurativaAmerican Osteopathic College of Dermatology
- Pilonidal CystMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: AbscessNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Abscess. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Abscess, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.