Perichondritis is inflammation of the

perichondrium The perichondrium (from Greek el, περί, peri, around, label=none and el, χόνδρος, chondros, cartilage, label=none) is a layer of dense irregular connective tissue that surrounds the cartilage of developing bone. It consists of two sep ...

, a layer of

connective tissue Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops from the mesenchyme derived from the mesoderm the middle embryonic germ layer. Connective tiss ...

which surrounds

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...

. A common form, auricular perichondritis (''perichondritis auriculae'') involves infection of the pinna due to infection of traumatic or surgical wound or the spread of inflammation into depth (e.g. Infected transcartilaginous ear piercings).Medline Plus description of Perichondritis of the outer ear
/ref> It may lead to severe deformation of the pinna if not treated vigorously with IV antibiotics. The causative organism is usually ''

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common encapsulated, gram-negative, aerobic–facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, ''P. aerugi ...

''. A rare form is laryngeal perichondritis (''perichondritis laryngis''). It develops suddenly due to an injury, virulent organisms or compromised immune status of the host, and also affects cartilage of the

larynx The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal inlet is about ...

. This may result in deformations and stenoses.

Signs and symptoms

Signs of perichondritis or chondritis in patients with an embedded earring are similar (these include pain, swelling and erythema of the overlying skin) and fluctuant swelling indicate an abscess that we should drain (typically associated with chondritis). Clinically, perichondritis can be differentiated from cellulitis of the pinna, in that the first usually does not involve the earlobe. In serious cases pus appears between the

and

. Purulent melting of auricular cartilage takes place. Dead tissue tears away, as a result, auricle deforms strongly and becomes shrunken.

References

External links

Inflammations Diseases of external ear {{musculoskeletal-disease-stub

Signs and symptoms

See also

References

External links