Meaning & use
pulmonary
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounmedical
relating to the lungs or the way blood moves through them.
Grammar: Used only before a noun, never after a linking verb: pulmonary disease, not 'the disease is pulmonary' in everyday speech.
Patterns
- pulmonary disease
- pulmonary artery
- pulmonary function
Smoking is a major cause of pulmonary disease.
The doctor checked his pulmonary function with a breathing test.
The pulmonary artery carries blood from the heart to the lungs.
adjectivebefore a nounmedical
used in the names of medical conditions that affect the lungs.
Grammar: Often part of a fixed medical name, such as pulmonary embolism or pulmonary edema.
Patterns
- pulmonary embolism
- pulmonary edema
- pulmonary hypertension
She was treated for a pulmonary embolism after the long flight.
Pulmonary edema can make it very hard to breathe.
Common combinations
- pulmonary disease
- He was diagnosed with a chronic pulmonary disease.
- pulmonary artery
- The pulmonary artery takes blood to the lungs.
- pulmonary function test
- A pulmonary function test measures how well your lungs work.
- pulmonary embolism
- A pulmonary embolism is a blockage in an artery in the lungs.
- pulmonary rehabilitation
- Pulmonary rehabilitation helps patients breathe more easily.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lung
- Lung is the everyday noun used before other nouns (lung cancer, lung disease); pulmonary is the technical adjective used in medical contexts.
- respiratory
- Respiratory covers the whole breathing system, including the nose and airways; pulmonary is narrower and refers mainly to the lungs.
Word family
- pulmonologist noun
- A doctor who specializes in lung diseases.
- pulmonology noun
- The medical study and treatment of lung diseases.
Commonly confused: pulmonary or pneumonia? pulmonary or pulmonary?
pulmonary vs pneumonia
Pneumonia is a serious illness of the lungs; pulmonary is the adjective meaning 'relating to the lungs'.
pulmonary vs pulmonary
Learners sometimes spell it 'pulminary'; the correct spelling has 'o' after 'pulm-'.
Practice
The doctor ordered a test to check his ______ function.
Choose one answer.
Pulmonary function is a fixed medical phrase for how well the lungs work. 'Pneumonia' is an illness and cannot describe function here, 'respiratory' is possible but less precise for a lung-specific test, and 'lung function' is also used but the medical phrase with this adjective is pulmonary function.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pulmonary”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.