emphysema
/ˌɛmfɪˈsiːmə
/noun [mass noun] Medicine
1 (also pulmonary emphysema) A condition in which the air sacs of the lungs are damaged and enlarged, causing breathlessness: smoking can lead to serious lung diseases such as emphysema...
- Remember asthma affects the lung tubes primarily and emphysema the air sacs.
- Then we need to add chronic lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis to the list of smoking-caused illnesses.
- Other important causes of shortness of breath are asthma, emphysema, pneumonia, and clots to the lung.
2A condition in which air is abnormally present within the body tissues.Our patient presented with mild dyspnea and dysphonia and demonstrated subcutaneous emphysema and Hamman's sign....
- Tachycardia may be present, as well as subcutaneous emphysema.
- She was unable to open her right eye because of the subcutaneous emphysema.
Origin
Mid 17th century (in sense 2): via late Latin from Greek emphusēma, from emphusan 'puff up'.
Rhymes
- germinal cell
- germinal center
- germinal centre
- germinal disc
- germinal disk
- germinal epithelium
- germinal layer
- germinally
- germinal membrane
- germinal spot
- germinal vesicle
- germinant
- germinate
- germination
- germinative
- germinator
- germing
- germiniparous
- Germiston
- germ-laden
- germ layer
- germless
- germ life
- germ line
- germling