Phlegmon is a: PGCEE MDS 2022

 # Phlegmon is a:

a) Sexually transmitted disease

b) Type of cellulitis

c) Type of osteomyelitis 

d) Venereal disease

The correct answer is B. Type of  cellulitis.

Cellulitis or Phlegmon is a diffuse inflammation of soft tissues that\ is not circumscribed or confined to one area, but which, contrary to the abscess, tends to spread through tissue spaces and along fascial planes. This type of reaction occurs due to infection by microorganisms that produce significant amounts of streptokinase, hyaluronidase (the spreading factor of Duran-Reynolds) and fibrinolysins, which act to breakdown or dissolve hyaluronic acid, the universal intercellular cement substance, and fibrin. Streptococci are particularly potent producers of hyaluronidase and are therefore a common causative organism in cases of cellulitis. Streptococci in their growth phase consume local oxygen and metabolize nutrients to produce an acidic environment, which is conducive to the subsequent growth of anaerobic microbes. The anaerobes such as Prevotella and Porphyromonas species destroy collagen.