Dictionary

PMDD Premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

PMR Polymyalgia rheumatica.

PMS Premenstrual syndrome.

pneumatic larynx A device that uses air to produce sound, helping a person whose larynx has been removed to talk.

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).

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).

pneumococcus See Streptococcus pneumoniae.

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,…

pneumoconiosis, coal miner’s See black lung disease.

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…

pneumomediastinum Free air in the space between the lungs (mediastinum), which may give rise to pneumothorax or pneumopericardium and compromise the lungs or heart.

pneumonectomy An operation to remove an entire lung or part of a lung.