An exudate is a fluid emitted by an organism through pores or a wound, a process known as exuding or exudation. ''Exudate'' is derived from ''exude'' 'to ooze' from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''exsūdāre'' 'to (ooze out) sweat' (''ex-'' 'out' and ''sūdāre'' 'to sweat').

Medicine

An exudate is any

fluid In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that continuously deforms (''flows'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are substances which cannot resist any shear ...

that filters from the

circulatory system The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

into

lesion A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by disease or trauma. ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin "injury". Lesions may occur in plants as well as animals. Types There is no designated classif ...

s or areas of

inflammation Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molec ...

. It can be a pus-like or clear fluid. When an injury occurs, leaving skin exposed, it leaks out of the blood vessels and into nearby tissues. The fluid is composed of

serum Serum may refer to: * Serum (blood), plasma from which the clotting proteins have been removed **Antiserum, blood serum with specific antibodies for passive immunity * Serous fluid, any clear bodily fluid *Truth serum, a drug that is likely to mak ...

fibrin Fibrin (also called Factor Ia) is a fibrous, non-globular protein involved in the clotting of blood. It is formed by the action of the protease thrombin on fibrinogen, which causes it to polymerize. The polymerized fibrin, together with pl ...

, and

leukocytes White blood cells, also called leukocytes or leucocytes, are the cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign invaders. All white blood cells are produced and derived from mu ...

. Exudate may ooze from cuts or from areas of infection or inflammation.

Types

* Purulent or suppurative exudate consists of plasma with both active and dead

neutrophils Neutrophils (also known as neutrocytes or heterophils) are the most abundant type of granulocytes and make up 40% to 70% of all white blood cells in humans. They form an essential part of the innate immune system, with their functions varying ...

fibrinogen Fibrinogen (factor I) is a glycoprotein complex, produced in the liver, that circulates in the blood of all vertebrates. During tissue and vascular injury, it is converted enzymatically by thrombin to fibrin and then to a fibrin-based blood cl ...

, and

necrotic Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, or trauma which result in the unregulated dige ...

parenchymal cells Parenchyma () is the bulk of functional substance in an animal organ or structure such as a tumour. In zoology it is the name for the tissue that fills the interior of flatworms. Etymology The term ''parenchyma'' is New Latin from the word π ...

. This kind of exudate is consistent with more severe infections, and is commonly referred to as pus. * Fibrinous exudate is composed mainly of

and

. It is characteristic of rheumatic carditis, but is seen in all severe injuries such as strep throat and

bacterial pneumonia Bacterial pneumonia is a type of pneumonia caused by bacterial infection. Types Gram-positive '' Streptococcus pneumoniae'' () is the most common bacterial cause of pneumonia in all age groups except newborn infants. ''Streptococcus pneumonia ...

. Fibrinous inflammation is often difficult to resolve due to blood vessels growing into the exudate and filling space that was occupied by fibrin. Often, large amounts of antibiotics are necessary for resolution. * Catarrhal exudate is seen in the nose and throat and is characterized by a high content of mucus. * Serous exudate (sometimes classified as serous transudate) is usually seen in mild inflammation, with relatively low protein. Its consistency resembles that of serum, and can usually be seen in certain disease states like

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

. (See below for difference between transudate and exudate) * Malignant (or cancerous) pleural effusion is effusion where cancer cells are present. It is usually classified as exudate. Types of exudates: Serous, Serosanguineous, Sanguineous, Hemorrhaging and Purulent drainage. Serous: Clear straw colored liquid that drains from the wound this is a normal part of the healing process. Serosanguineous: Small amount of blood is present in the drainage it is pink in color due to the presence of red blood cells mixed with serous drainage. This is a normal part of the healing process Sanguineous: This type of drainage contains red blood due to trauma of blood vessels, this may occur while cleaning the wound. Sanguineous drainage is abnormal. Hemorrhaging: This type of drainage contains frank blood from a leaking blood vessel. This will require emergency treatment to control the bleed. This type of drainage is abnormal. Purulent drainage: This type of drainage is malodorous and can be yellow, gray, or greenish in color. This is an indication of an infection.

Exudates vs. transudates

There is an important distinction between

transudates Transudate is extravascular fluid with low protein content and a low specific gravity (< 1.012). It has low nucleated cell counts (less than 500 to 1000 /microliter) and the primary cell types are hydrostatic or

colloid osmotic pressure Oncotic pressure, or colloid osmotic-pressure, is a form of osmotic pressure induced by the proteins, notably albumin, in a blood vessel's plasma (blood/liquid) that causes a pull on fluid back into the capillary. Participating colloids displac ...

, not by inflammation. They have a low protein content in comparison to exudates. Medical distinction between transudates and exudates is through the measurement of the

specific gravity Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water at its dens ...

of extracted fluid. Specific gravity is used to measure the protein content of the fluid. The higher the specific gravity, the greater the likelihood of

capillary A capillary is a small blood vessel from 5 to 10 micrometres (μm) in diameter. Capillaries are composed of only the tunica intima, consisting of a thin wall of simple squamous endothelial cells. They are the smallest blood vessels in the bod ...

permeability changes in relation to body cavities. For example, the specific gravity of the transudate is usually less than 1.012 and a protein content of less than 2 g/100 mL (2 g%).

Rivalta test Certain diseases can cause excessive accumulations of fluid in areas of the body such as the abdomen (ascites) or the pleural space around the lungs (pleural effusion) or the pericardial space around the heart. An estimate of the concentration o ...

may be used to differentiate an exudate from a transudate. It is not clear if there is a distinction in the difference of transudates and exudates in plants.

Plant exudates

Plant exudates include saps,

gums The gums or gingiva (plural: ''gingivae'') consist of the mucosal tissue that lies over the mandible and maxilla inside the mouth. Gum health and disease can have an effect on general health. Structure The gums are part of the soft tissue li ...

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

, and

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on nat ...

. Sometimes

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualist ...

is considered an exudate. Plant seeds exudate a variety of molecules into the

spermosphere In plant science, the spermosphere is the zone in the soil surrounding a germinating seed. This is a small volume with radius perhaps 1 cm but varying with seed type, the variety of soil microorganisms, the level of soil moisture, and other f ...

, and roots exudate into the rhizosphere, these exudates include acids, sugars, polysaccharides and ectoenzymes; this can account for 40% of root carbon. Exudation of these compounds has various benefits to the plant and to the

microorganisms A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

of the rhizosphere.

References

External links

* {{Inflammation Cardiovascular physiology Body fluids

Medicine

Types

Exudates vs. transudates

Plant exudates

See also

References

External links