What are the 4 types of exudate?
Andrew Hansen
Published May 27, 2026
Types of Wound Exudate
There are four types of wound drainage: serous, sanguineous, serosanguinous, and purulent.What type of exudate indicates infection?
Purulent Wound DrainageExudate that becomes a thick, milky liquid or a thick liquid that turns yellow, tan, gray, green, or brown is almost always a sign that infection is present. This drainage contains white blood cells, dead bacteria, wound debris, and inflammatory cells.
What are the three types of exudates?
They are:
- Serous – a clear, thin and watery plasma. ...
- Sanguinous – a fresh bleeding, seen in deep partial- and full-thickness wounds. ...
- Serosanguineous – thin, watery and pale red to pink in color.
- Seropurulent – thin, watery, cloudy and yellow to tan in color.