bronchopneumonia

bronchopneumonia — noun

1. a kind of pneumonia in which infection and inflammation spread through many smal

1.nounC2
Definition

a kind of pneumonia in which infection and inflammation spread through many small parts of the lungs, often around the tiny air tubes.

Example

After a week of flu, Gabriel developed bronchopneumonia and had trouble breathing.

develop bronchopneumonia after flu

The doctor warned that bronchopneumonia can spread through both lungs very quickly.

bronchopneumonia can spread through both lungs

Common collocations
  • develop bronchopneumonia
  • treat bronchopneumonia
  • diagnose bronchopneumonia
  • bronchopneumonia after flu
Synonyms
  • pneumonia

    broader medical term; bronchopneumonia is one specific form of it

  • chest infection

    everyday term that is less exact and may describe milder illness

  • lung infection

    plain explanation rather than a formal diagnosis

Grammar Patterns

develop/have/treat/diagnose + bronchopneumonia

bronchopneumonia + in + [patient/group]

Usage Note

Usually treated as an uncountable medical noun. It often follows verbs such as 'develop', 'have', 'treat', or 'diagnose' and commonly appears when doctors describe infection in babies, older adults, or weak patients.

Common Mistakes

He caught a bronchopneumonia after the flu.
He developed bronchopneumonia after the flu.
the illness is usually uncountable and is commonly said to develop after another infection.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Bronchopneumonia' is a precise medical label for a form of pneumonia that affects many small areas of the lungs, often around the small airways. 'Pneumonia' is the broader disease name and does not by itself say what pattern the infection has. 'Chest infection' is an everyday expression people use before a full diagnosis, so it can sound less exact and sometimes milder. 'Bronchitis' is different again: it mainly describes inflammation in the bronchial tubes, not infection spreading into many parts of the lungs. Compare: a doctor may diagnose 'bronchopneumonia' after an X-ray, say a patient 'has pneumonia' in general, tell a family it began as a 'chest infection', or explain that early 'bronchitis' later became more serious.

bronchopneumonia ↗pneumonia ↗chest infectionbronchitis

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • develop bronchopneumonia
  • treat bronchopneumonia
  • recover from bronchopneumonia

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekLate LatinEnglish

'Bronchopneumonia' was built in medical English from two older parts. 'Broncho-' comes from Greek 'bronkhos', meaning a windpipe or airway tube. 'Pneumonia' came into English through Late Latin from Greek words linked to breath and the lungs. Put together, the word names a kind of pneumonia connected with the bronchial tubes and the nearby lung tissue.

First known use

1852

1852, in the meaning defined above