Gangrene

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Gangrene
Cell and Genetics Class By Victoria Alfaro
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What is Gangrene?

• Gangrene is the death of tissue that begins when
  a section of the body loses its blood supply.
• Its often the result of a serious accident in
  which an arm or leg is crushed.
• Less commonly, it follows an internal blockage,
  such as a clogged or obstructed artery.

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There are two major types of gangrene

• Dry gangrene . This variety is free of infection.
  It is usually brought on by a blood clot,
  frostbite, or poor circulation that causes the
  tissues to become dry and shriveled.

After
Before
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• Wet gangrene (also called gas gangrene) . In this
  form of the disease, dead tissue becomes a
  breeding ground for bacteriatypically
  Clostridium , which thrives in the absence of
  oxygencausing the area to become moist and
  foul-smelling.

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Signs and Symptoms

• The skin may look pale at first, then become red
  or bronze, and finally turn dark red or purple.
• Infection makes the skin warm and swollen
• Inflammation at the site of the infection can
  become extremely painful as the tissue swells.
• A foul-smelling brown-red or bloody discharge may
  drain from the afflicted tissues.

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• In other parts of the body, the infection soon
  produces sweating, fever, and increased heart
  rate. Left untreated, the victim will develop a
  shock-like syndrome with decreased blood
  pressure, kidney failure, coma, and finally
  death.

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How to you treat Gangrene before it gets worse.

• Because gangrene spreads rapidly, immediate
  treatment is essential. The goal is to prevent
  infection from spreading.
• Any dead tissue must be removed at once.
• Antibiotics are needed to keep bacteria from
  attacking surrounding tissues.
• Restoring blood supply.
• In severe cases, it may lead to amputation.

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Article related

• Group C Streptococcal Sepsis Complicating
  Fournier Gangrene
• Fournier Gangrene is life-threatening . It
  basically had to do with a male that had gangrene
  and his disease was caused by his diabetes and it
  was located in the scrotal area . The diabetes
  was in his genes from other family members and he
  ended up with the gangrene case.

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Reference

• www.m-w.com/dictionary/gangrene
• cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd? gangrene
• www.emedicinehealth.com/gangrene
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangrene
• www.healthatoz.com
• www.galileo.usg.edu