About
痈 (traditional 癰) is a phono-semantic compound combining the sickness radical 疒, which signals a medical condition, with the phonetic component 雝 (simplified to 用). It denotes a carbuncle, a painful, pus-filled skin abscess caused by bacterial infection. The character is used in medical contexts for this inflammatory condition and occasionally serves as a metaphor for deep-rooted social or political corruption that must be excised.
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