Affixes

Examples referring to the lungs include pneumonia, lung inflammation caused by bacterial or viral infection; pneumoconiosis (Greek konis, dust), a disease of the lungs due to inhalation of dust; pneumonitis, inflammation of the walls of the alveoli (air sacs) in the lungs, usually caused by a virus; pneumonectomy (Greek ektomē, excision), surgical removal of a lung or part of a lung.

Terms indicating the presence of air or gas include pneumatic, something containing or operated by air or gas under pressure; pneumothorax, the presence of air or gas in the cavity between the lungs and the chest wall, causing collapse of the lung; pneumocephalus, the presence of air within the skull, usually resulting from a fracture; pneumatosis, the occurrence of gas cysts in abnormal sites in the body.

A rare example of its sense of ‘spirit’ occurs in pneumatology, the branch of Christian theology concerned with the Holy Ghost and other spiritual concepts.