IT IS surprising that relatively little attention has been given to the meningeal reaction associated with abscess of the brain, despite the fact that the clinical diagnosis of brain abscess is often concerned with this feature of the problem. A great deal is known concerning the processes involved in the encapsulation of a brain abscess, but much less is known concerning the reaction in the meninges.
The following study was undertaken in order to determine (1) the reaction of the meninges overlying an abscess of the brain and (2) its relationship to the general problem of diagnosis of abscess and to the process of encapsulation in particular.
MATERIAL AND OBSERVATIONS
Histopathologic studies were made of the meninges in 19 cases with 42 brain abscesses. No cases of generalized purulent meningitis were included in this series. The table presents the results of the study of the meninges, together with relevant data