American spelling: describing tissue, especially lung tissue, that has become liver-like in appearance and texture due to disease.
Past tense/participle of hepatize (American spelling). As an adjective, it describes tissue that has undergone the transformation to a liver-like state.
When 19th-century doctors examined lungs from pneumonia patients and noted 'hepatized' tissue, they were making a crucial connection between visible changes and the loss of lung function—a perfect example of observation-based medicine.
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