empyema

American  

[em-pee-ee-muh, -pahy-] / ˌɛm piˈi mə, -paɪ- /

noun

Pathology.

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

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empyema British  

/ ˌɛmpaɪˈiːmə /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• empyemic adjective

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

He said she died as a result of bronchopneumonia with empyema due to invasive streptococcal infection.

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2024

Dr. Livingston Farrand, 72, modest, beloved president-emeritus of Cornell University; of bronchopneumonia and empyema; in Manhattan.

From Time Magazine Archive

In two cases where trypsin failed, the empyema was of long standing and the cavity walls had become rigid.

From Time Magazine Archive

One of the most serious complications met in treating tuberculosis is what the doctors call empyema, i.e., the cavity between a lung and the chest wall fills with pus.

From Time Magazine Archive

These physical signs suggest empyema; and rib resection had been done before admission in a number of cases only to find the pleura normal.

From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Jackson, Chevalier