A type of pneumonia that starts in the bronchial tubes and spreads into the surrounding lung tissue, creating a patchy pattern rather than consolidating the entire lobe.
From Greek 'bronchos' (windpipe) + 'pneumonia' (lung inflammation from Greek 'pneumon', lung). This hybrid term emerged in the 19th century as doctors distinguished between different patterns of pneumonia.
Bronchopneumonia is sometimes called 'bronchial pneumonia' or 'lobular pneumonia,' and it looks like scattered patches of white on X-rays rather than one solid white area, which is actually one of the ways radiologists tell different types of pneumonia apart.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.