Pneumonia
Pneumonia is inflammation of the alveoli which become full of secretions and inflammatory cells, usually as a result of bacterial infection. The area affected may become solid - a process called consolidation. Pneumonia may be classified either according to the part of the lung affected - so if it is a whole lobe of a lung it is lobar pneumonia, while if it is spread throughout both lungs in patches it is bronchopneumonia - or according to whether it was contracted in the community or in a hospital setting (so either community acquired or nosocomial). The symptoms are those of any infection - fever and malaise - associated with cough, chest pain, sputum, and shortness of breath. There may be blood in the sputum - a process called haemoptysis. The commonest cause of community-acquired pneumonia, particularly in young adults, is infection with a bacterium called streptococcus pneumoniae. In severe cases this can cause death, even in previously fit young people. Pneumonia may also be a complication of infection with influenza virus.
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