Aspiration of the Olecranon Bursa eMedicie Procedures

Description: When a bursa becomes inflamed, it may be categorized as either septic or aseptic. Noninfective or aseptic bursitis is a sterile inflammation, which may occur secondary to acute trauma, overuse injury, crystal deposition (eg, gout, pseudogout), or systemic disease (eg, rheumatoid arthritis [RA], uremia, systemic lupus erythematosus).
Aseptic cases account for approximately two thirds of all bursitis diagnoses. Conversely, infective or septic bursitis is the inflammation of a bursa secondary to the seeding of the bursal sac with microorganisms; most commonly, these microorganisms are bacteria, but they can, rarely, be fungus or algae. Seeding most often occurs transcutaneously after trauma to the region overlying the bursa.
Gil Z Shlamovitz, MD Updated: Mar 9, 2009