empyema

[ em-pee-ee-muh, -pahy- ]

/ ˌɛm piˈi mə, -paɪ- /

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noun Pathology.

a collection of pus in a body cavity, especially the pleural cavity.

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Also called pyothorax.

Origin of empyema

1605–15; <Late Latin <Greek empýēma abscess, equivalent to em-em-² + pyē- (variant stem of pyeîn to suppurate, akin to pýon, pýos pus) + -ma noun suffix denoting result of action

OTHER WORDS FROM empyema

em·py·e·mic, adjective

Words nearby empyema

Empty Quarter, empty set, empty suit, empty word, empurple, empyema, empyesis, empyreal, empyrean, empyreuma, em quad

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use empyema in a sentence

(c) Decomposition of exudates anywhere in the body, as in empyema, bronchiectasis, and large tuberculous cavities.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Empima (empyema) is the hawking-up of sanies, with infection of the lung and a sanious habit.
Gilbertus Anglicus|Henry Ebenezer Handerson
Koch advises to conduct this lung surgery after the manner of operating empyema.
Prof. Koch's Method to Cure Tuberculosis Popularly Treated|Max Birnbaum
If the spirits be thinner than air, how are they held by the tunic of the lung, since this lets pass the pus and serum of empyema?
Harvey's Views on the Use of the Circulation of the Blood|John G. Curtis

When three to six months have passed without any trace of secretion, the empyema may be considered cured.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for empyema

empyema

/ (ˌɛmpaɪˈiːmə) /

noun plural -emata (-ˈiːmətə) or -emas

a collection of pus in a body cavity, esp in the chest

Derived forms of empyema

empyemic, adjective

Word Origin for empyema

C17: from Medieval Latin, from Greek empuēma abscess, from empuein to suppurate, from puon pus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for empyema

empyema

[ ĕm′pī-ē′mə ]

n. pl. em•py•e•ma•ta (-mə-tə)

The presence of pus in a body cavity, especially the pleural cavity.

Other words from empyema

em′py•e′mic adj.