pneumonia Inflammation of one or both lungs, with dense areas of lung inflammation. Pneumonia is frequently but not always due to infection. The infection may be bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic. Symptoms may include fever, chills, cough with sputum production, chest pain, and shortness of breath. Pneumonia is suggested by the symptoms and confirmed by…
pneumonectomy An operation to remove an entire lung or part of a lung.
pneumomediastinum Free air in the space between the lungs (mediastinum), which may give rise to pneumothorax or pneumopericardium and compromise the lungs or heart.
pneumocystis carinii pneumonia A parasitic infection of the lungs that is particularly common and life-threatening in premature or malnourished infants and in immunosuppressed persons. Abbreviated PCP. PCP causes fever, cough, shortness of breath, and bluish extremities. Untreated, it leads to dense areas of lung inflammation, low blood oxygen levels, and death. Preventive treatment is available…
pneumoconiosis, coal miner’s See black lung disease.
pneumoconiosis Inflammation and irritation caused by deposition of dust or other particulate matter in the lungs. Pneumoconiosis usually occurs in workers in certain occupations and in people who live in areas that have a great deal of particulate matter in the air. Types of pneumoconiosis range from nearly harmless forms to destructive or fatal conditions,…
pneumococcus See Streptococcus pneumoniae.
pneumococcal immunization A vaccine that prevents one of the most common and severe forms of pneumonia, the form that is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus bacterium).
pneumo- Prefix pertaining to breathing, respiration, the lungs, pneumonia, or air, as in pneumonectomy (an operation to remove an entire lung or part of a lung) and pneumonia (inflammation of one or both lungs).
pneumatic larynx A device that uses air to produce sound, helping a person whose larynx has been removed to talk.
PMS Premenstrual syndrome.
PMR Polymyalgia rheumatica.