Brain abscess | |
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Brain abscess in a person with a CSF shunt. The abscess is the darker gray region in the lower left of the image (corresponding to the right parietal lobe). The lateral ventricles are visible in black in the center of the brain, adjacent to the abscess.[1] | |
Specialty | Neurology, infectious diseases |
Brain abscess (or cerebral abscess) is an abscess within the brain tissue caused by inflammation and collection of infected material coming from local (ear infection, dental abscess, infection of paranasal sinuses, infection of the mastoid air cells of the temporal bone, epidural abscess) or remote (lung, heart, kidney etc.) infectious sources. The infection may also be introduced through a skull fracture following a head trauma or surgical procedures. Brain abscess is usually associated with congenital heart disease in young children. It may occur at any age but is most frequent in the third decade of life.