Actinomycosis pathophysiology

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Pathophysiology

• Actinomycosis is caused by the bacteria Actinomyces which is a normal commensal of the human oral cavity but less common in the female genital tract and lower gastrointestinal tract.
• The most frequent manifestation of actinomycosis is cervicofacial actinomycosis. This infection occurs mostly from dental manipulation, dental caries, or oromaxillofacial trauma.
• The common clinical forms of are:

• Cervicofacial actinomycosis (lumpy jaw)
• Thoracic actinomycosis
• Abdominal actinomycosis
• Pelvic actinomycosis
• Dermatologic actinomycosis
• Pediatric actinomycosis
• Opthalmological actinomycosis

• Actinomyces is usually

Types	Site of Infection	Source of infection	Pathogenesis
Cervicofascial actinomycosis	Neck Jaw Mouth	Dental problems like tooth decay
Thoracic actinomycosis	Lungs or Associated airways	Inhalation of droplets of contaminated fluid
Abdominal actinomycosis	Abdomen	Secondary to abdominal infections like appendicitis or Accidental swallowing of a foreign body such as, chicken bone containing the actinomycetes bacteria
Pelvic actinomycosis	Pelvis	Occurs most commonly in woman as the bacteria passes from the female genitals into the pelvis Long term use of IUD type of contraceptive

References

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