- Furuncle
- Nothing more nor less than a "boil" with a fancy name. A boil is a collection of pus. Antibiotics are often not very helpful in treating abscesses. The main treatments include hot packs and draining ("lancing") the abscess, but only when it is soft and ready to drain. If you develop an abscess and. have fever, a long-term illness (such as cancer or diabetes) or are on medication that suppresses the immune system, you should contact your healthcare practitioner.
* * *A localized pyogenic infection, most frequently by Staphylococcus aureus, originating deep in a hair follicle. SYN: boil, furunculus. [L. furunculus, a petty thief]
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fu·run·cu·lar fyu̇-'rəŋ-kyə-lər adjfu·run·cu·lous -ləs adj* * *
n.* * *
fu·run·cle (fuґrung-kəl) [L. furunculus] a painful nodule formed in the skin by circumscribed inflammation of the dermis and subcutaneous tissue after staphylococci enter through the hair follicles; its formation may be favored by digestive disorders, local irritation, or more general systemic disorders including immunodeficiency. Called also boil. furuncular adj
Medical dictionary. 2011.