Consolidation (Medicine)
The term consolidation ( Latin: solidification, solidification) has several meanings in medicine. In general, it means the healing of injuries, but also of illnesses. For example, bone and wound healing are referred to as consolidation in this context . The term consolidation is also used to describe the non-progression of diseases.
Pulmonary medicine
In the pulmonary medicine (pneumology) is meant by consolidating a collection of exudate , transudate , or other tissue in the pulmonary alveoli (alveoli). This displaces the air from the alveoli and the actual function of gas exchange can no longer be fulfilled. In X-ray and computed tomography images of the lungs, the consolidations of the alveoli appear as radiopaque (bright) structures, as they are less permeable to X-rays than normal lung tissue. Lung consolidation occurs mainly in the context of inflammation and fibrosis , e.g. B. in pneumonia and interstitial lung diseases .
literature
- Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Urban & Schwarzenberg (Ed.): Roche Lexicon Medicine. 4th edition, Urban & Schwarzenberg, Munich / Vienna / Baltimore 1998, ISBN 3-541-17114-6 .