What does "empyema" mean?

A collection of pus within a naturally existing anatomical cavity (as opposed to an abscess, which occurs in a newly formed cavity).

What is a synonym for "empyema"?

Common synonyms include: asthma, black lung, bronchitis, cold, croup, emphysema.

Pronounced //ɛm.pʌɪˈiː.mə//.

//ɛm.pʌɪˈiː.mə// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A collection of pus within a naturally existing anatomical cavity (as opposed to an abscess, which occurs in a newly formed cavity).
2
a collection of pus in a body cavity (especially in the lung cavity) wordnet

From Ancient Greek ἐμπύημα (empúēma, “gathering, abscess”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.