Granuloma
inflammation consisting of immune cells known as macrophages
A granuloma (pl. granulomata) is an aggregation of macrophages (along with other cells) that forms in response to chronic inflammation. This occurs when the immune system attempts to isolate foreign substances that it is otherwise unable to eliminate. Such substances include infectious organisms including bacteria and fungi, as well as other materials such as foreign objects, keratin, and suture fragments.
Definition
In pathology, a granuloma is an organized collection of macrophages.
In medical practice, doctors occasionally use the term granuloma in its more literal meaning: "a small nodule". Since a small nodule can represent any tissue from a harmless nevus to a malignant tumor, this use of the term is not very specific. Examples of this use of the term granuloma are the lesions known as vocal cord granuloma (known as contact granuloma), pyogenic granuloma, and intubation granuloma, all of which are examples of granulation tissue, not granulomas. "Pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma" is a lesion characterized by keloid-like fibrosis in the lung and is not granulomatous. Similarly, radiologists often use the term granuloma when they see a calcified nodule on X-ray or CT scan of the chest.
The public source identifies “Granuloma” as inflammation consisting of immune cells known as macrophages. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Granuloma, inflammation and consisting.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1129338. The Library of Congress control number is sh85056443. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Granuloma” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.