Tags: biology, bacteria, blood, pus, fact, curious, reddish pink
Original article content:
Pus Doesn’t Actually Turn Brown, It’s Reddish Pink in Color
There is much confusion and misunderstanding about the color of pus. It is commonly believed that pus turns brown as it ages and goes through the process of decomposition. However, this is actually not true. Pus may appear brownish or reddish initially when it first forms, but this is due to the presence of pathogens making the body’s natural immune response and alerting the process of the infection. Over time, though, the color of pus does not change significantly, and it remains red or reddish as it ages.
This lack of decomposition and overall stability are two key reasons why pink-colored pus caused some people to take notice. In reality, this innocuous-looking gooey substance was initially propelled into mainstream media because of an incident in 1841 that happened during the Crimean War. During medical studies at St John’s Military Hospital in Scutari (now a part of Istanbul) William Wilson constructed a narrow stone tunnel under one of his walls that allowed him to stream pus onto the peasants on street corners without being seen. By doing so he was able to observe first-hand how the body reacted to strong purulent discharges from open surgical wounds and how speeding up decomposition or even bloody autopsys did not make any difference for safety measures on military bases overall. As a result, this incident provided valuable insight into how bacterial pathogens interacting with underlying tissues monitored internal changes over time, without any visible signs showing up right away (a phenomenon known as “substratum sensing”). It also demonstrated that redness did not necessarily indicate increased risk compared to other colors—and that darkness was mainly due to its consistency rather than its specific chemical composition. This all helps explain why during peacetime such discoloration mostly results from bacterial growth causing inflammation or localized swelling rather than actual cell death itself occurring—the latter being most apparent when there has been significant damage done despite exposure
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