Consolidation (medicine)

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Consolidation is a clinical term for solidification into a firm dense mass. [See corresponding lexical definition[M-W Online: Medical Definition of 'Consolidation'] in [National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus Dictionary] powered by Merriam-Webster (M-W) Online.] It is usually applied to a condition marked by induration[M-W Online: Medical Definition of 'Induration'] (swelling or hardening of normally soft tissue) of a normally aerated lung through accumulation of inflammatory cellular exudate in the alveoli and adjoining ducts. Consolidated tissue is radio-opaque, so that it is clearly demonstrable in X-rays and CT (computerized tomography) scans. [The clinically-oriented reader is directed to a [PubMed] search[PubMed Reviews on Pulmonary Consolidation] for scholarly reviews on pulmonary consolidation in different diseases.] Consolidation is often a middle-to-late stage feature/complication in pulmonary infections.

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