pneumocystis, n. Path.
(njuːməʊˈsɪstɪs)
[a. mod.L. generic name Pneumocystis (M. & Mme. P. Delanoë 1912, in Comptes Rendus CLV. 660): see pneumo- and cystis n.]
The protozoan Pneumocystis carinii, which inhabits the lungs and is a common infective agent in immunocompromised individuals. pneumocystis (carinii) pneumonia, pneumocystis pneumonitis (also PCP (see *P II.) and occas. ellipt.), a severe and often fatal form of pneumonia caused by infection with this organism, and characterized by the proliferation of cysts within the lung cavity, leading to tachypnoea.
| [1953 Ann. Pædiatrici CLXXX. 1 The etiology of this pneumonia was solved by the discovery of the parasite Pneumocystis carinii... We therefore propose to call this pneumonia parasitic or pneumocystic. 1954 Zentralblatt f. Allgemeine Path. und Pathologische Anat. XCII. 424 (heading) Zur Morphologie der Pneumocystis carinii und zur Pathogenese der Pneumocystis-Pneumonie.] 1955 Jrnl. Clin. Path. VIII. 23/1 Bachmann (1953) found pneumocystis in all of the 14 cases of plasmacellular pneumonia which he examined. 1956 Amer. Jrnl. Path. XXXII. 1 Knowledge of pneumocystis pneumonitis has developed far more rapidly in Europe than in the United States or elsewhere in the world. 1956 Jrnl. Path. & Bacteriol. LXXII. 457 It is tempting to speculate whether the rare cases of pulmonary microlithiasis alveolaris may not possibly be explained as the ultimate outcome of a pneumocystis pneumonia in an adult. 1957 Lancet 12 Jan. 59/2 (heading) ‘Pneumocystis carinii’ pneumonia. 1958 Pediatrics XXI. 349/2 It seems unlikely at this time that this case could be included under the diagnostic heading of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. 1960 Arch. Dis. Childhood XXXV. 495/1 Pneumocystis carinii pneumonitis has been found associated with congenital agammaglobulinaemia, [etc.]. 1970 Cancer XXV. 696/2 Early diagnosis of pneumocystis carinii pneumonitis is imperative since it has been shown that pentamidine or hydroxystilbamidine are therapeutic agents of significant efficacy. 1984 Ann. Internal Med. C. 62/1 The 71-year-old wife of a 74-year-old hemophiliac who had received factor VIII concentrate and subsequently died due to Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. 1987 Oxf. Textbk. Med. (ed. 2) II. xv. 9/1 Transbronchial biopsy should be suitable if the diagnosis is likely to be..diffuse infection (e.g. disseminated tuberculosis or pneumocystis). 1988 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 6 Aug. 382/2 In all 19 patients positive for pneumocystis, it was the first episode of pneumocystis pneumonia. |