What does empyema mean?
Empyema is a medical term denoting an accumulation of pus within a natural body cavity, most commonly the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. It typically develops as a complication of bacterial pneumonia, when infected fluid collects and thickens in the space around the lung, causing fever, chest pain, breathlessness, and general malaise. Diagnosis relies on imaging and fluid analysis, and treatment usually involves antibiotics together with drainage of the pus, sometimes requiring surgery if the collection has become organized into fibrous pockets. Though the word can technically describe pus in other cavities, pleural involvement dominates modern usage, and clinicians often specify 'pleural empyema' for clarity. Derived from the Greek for 'to break out in pus,' the term carries a distinctly clinical register and appears chiefly in medical literature, case reports, and specialist discussion rather than everyday conversation.
nounAn accumulation of pus in a body cavity, especially the pleural space surrounding the lungs.
- An accumulation of pus within the pleural cavity around the lungs, typically arising as a complication of pneumonia.
- More generally, a collection of pus in any anatomical cavity of the body.
"The patient's persistent fever and chest pain were traced to an empyema requiring surgical drainage."
"Following his bout of pneumonia, imaging revealed an empyema that had to be drained through a chest tube."
"In rare cases, an untreated abdominal infection can progress to an empyema within the gallbladder."
The anglicized plural 'empyemas' is standard in modern medical writing; the classical Latin-style plural 'empyemata' also exists but is largely restricted to older texts.
"Both patients presented with loculated empyemas that required surgical decortication."
The word 'empyema' literally means 'something full of pus' in ancient Greek — and it's been making physicians wince since Hippocrates described draining it over two thousand years ago.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of empyema
Empyema comes from the Greek 'empyēma,' meaning 'an abscess' or literally 'something suppurating,' formed from 'en-' (in) plus 'pyon' (pus). The term passed into Latin and entered English medical usage in the early modern period, retaining its classical sense of a purulent accumulation. It shares its Greek root 'pyon' with other medical terms such as 'pyogenic' (pus-producing) and 'pyorrhea' (discharge of pus), reflecting medicine's enduring debt to Greek vocabulary.
Related word forms
How empyema is actually used
A formal clinical term used almost exclusively in medical contexts; lay speakers would more likely say 'a pocket of infection.' The plural 'empyemata' exists but is rarely used in modern practice, where 'empyemas' is preferred.
Easily confused with empyema
Empyrean refers to the highest heaven or the celestial sphere, while empyema is a medical condition involving pus in a body cavity.