Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

pneumoconiosis, coal miner’s
See 
black lung
disease.
pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
A parasitic
infection of the lungs that is particularly common
and life-threatening in premature or malnourished
infants and in immunosuppressed persons.
Abbreviated PCP. PCP causes fever, cough, shortness
of breath, and bluish extremities. Untreated, it leads
to dense areas of lung inflammation, low blood oxy-
gen levels, and death. Preventive treatment is avail-
able to prevent PCP in persons who are at increased
risk.
pneumomediastinum
Free air in the space
between the lungs (mediastinum), which may give
rise to pneumothorax or pneumopericardium and
compromise the lungs or heart.
pneumonectomy
An operation to remove an
entire lung or part of a lung.
pneumonia
Inflammation of one or both lungs,
with dense areas of lung inflammation. Pneumonia
is frequently but not always due to infection. The
infection may be bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic.
Symptoms may include fever, chills, cough with spu-
tum production, chest pain, and shortness of
breath. Pneumonia is suggested by the symptoms
and confirmed by chest X-ray testing. Treatment
includes antibiotics.
pneumonia, aspiration
Inflammation of the
lungs due to the sucking in of food particles or flu-
ids into the lungs (aspiration).
pneumonia, bilateral
See 
pneumonia, double.
pneumonia, double
Pneumonia in both lungs.
Also known as bilateral pneumonia.
pneumonia, giant cell
A deadly but fortunately
rare complication of measles that tends to strike
children who are immunodeficient from leukemia
or AIDS. The lung tissue shows multinucleated giant
cells lining the alveoli (air sacs) of the lungs. Also
known as Hecht’s pneumonia.