Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Consolidation (medicine)
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Consolidation is a clinical term for solidification into a firm dense mass. [See corresponding lexical definition[1] 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[2] (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[3] for scholarly reviews on pulmonary consolidation in different diseases.] Consolidation is often a middle-to-late stage feature/complication in pulmonary infections.[3]