Cutaneous actinomycosis is a
chronic disease
A chronic condition is a health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time. The term ''chronic'' is often applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three m ...
that affects the deep
subcutaneous tissue of the skin. Caused by an
anaerobic
Anaerobic means "living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen", as opposed to aerobic which means "living, active, or occurring only in the presence of oxygen." Anaerobic may also refer to:
* Anaerobic adhesive, a bonding a ...
, Gram-positive, filamentous type of
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...
in the genus ''
Actinomyces
''Actinomyces'' is a genus of the Actinomycetia class of bacteria. They all are gram-positive. ''Actinomyces'' species are facultatively anaerobic and they grow best under anaerobic conditions. ''Actinomyces'' species may form endospores, an ...
'',
invasion of the soft tissue leads to the formation of abnormal channels leading to the skin surface (external sinus tracts) that discharge pale yellow sulfur granules.
This disease is uncommon, and has non-specific clinical features, making it difficult to diagnose.
Cervicofacial, pulmonary/thoracic and gastrointestinal forms exist, yet cervicofacial disease accounts for two-thirds of reported infections.
See also
*
Skin lesion
A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of th ...
References
Bacterium-related cutaneous conditions
{{Cutaneous-infection-stub