Definition

Noun: A severe and highly contagious form of bubonic plague that primarily affects the lungs. It is characterized by rapid progression, high fever, chills, and coughing up bloody sputum, and can be transmitted directly between humans through respiratory droplets.

Usage

This is a medical term used to describe a specific, virulent disease. * The historical accounts described an outbreak of pulmonic plague that spread with terrifying speed through the crowded city. * Pulmonic plague is considered particularly dangerous due to its person-to-person transmission via the air.

Examples

• Without immediate antibiotic treatment, pulmonic plague is almost always fatal.
• Symptoms of pulmonic plague include sudden onset of fever, headache, weakness, and a rapidly developing pneumonia with shortness of breath and bloody cough.

Advanced Usage

• In historical/epidemiological context: The term is often used when discussing past pandemics, such as the Black Death, or in scenarios analyzing the spread of pneumonic forms of infection.
  • Some researchers argue that the second wave of the Black Death was driven largely by pulmonic plague, which allowed it to spread independently of flea vectors.

Variants and Related Words

• Pneumonic plague: This is the more common and precise synonym for pulmonic plague. "Pulmonic" and "pneumonic" both relate to the lungs.
• Bubonic plague: The more common form of plague, characterized by swollen lymph nodes (buboes), typically spread by fleas and not directly between people.
• Septicemic plague: A form of plague where the bacteria multiply in the bloodstream.

Synonyms

• Pneumonic plague
• Plague pneumonia

Notes on Different Meanings

This term has a single, specific medical meaning. It is not used in general or figurative language.

Noun

1. a rapidly progressive and frequently fatal form of the plague that can spread through the air from person to person; characterized by lung involvement with chill, bloody expectoration and high fever