Actinomycosis

(ak-tin-o-mi-co’ ’-sis) [d/cr/c, a rray; fivKrjc, a fungus]. A parasitic, infectious, inoculable disease first observed in cattle, and also occurring in man, and characterized by the manifestations of chronic inflammation, with or without suppuration, often resulting in the formation of granulation tumors, especially about the jaws. The disease is due to the presence of a parasite, the ray fungus, or actinomyces. The disease is often called lumpy-jaw, holdfast, or wooden tongue. 33