Pyogenic hepatic abscess by a foreign body is a rare disease and its diagnosis is habitually made during necropsy. The authors present a case of a woman operated because of a pyogenic hepatic abscess, in the interior of which bristle made of material of vegetable origin were encountered and identified in the laboratory as the principal rib of a leaf, known in Brazil as piaçava. The hepatic abscess was drained and the patient was discharged. The probable mechanism for the formation of the hepatic abscess consisted of the accidental ingestion, perforation of the intestines and penetration in the liver.
Liver abscess; Foreign bodies; Intestinal perfuration
