A term applied to infective processes, to indicate a natural subsidence of the INFLAMMATION without the formation of PUS. Thus a pneumonic lung is said to ‘resolve’ when the material exuded into it is absorbed into the blood and lymph, so that recovery takes place naturally; an inflamed area is said to resolve when the inflammation diminishes and no abscess forms; a glandular enlargement is said to resolve when it decreases in size without SUPPURATION. 2) The extent to which individual details – for example, cell structures – can be identified by the eye when using a light microscope.