File:Enterococcus_histological_pneumonia_01.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
sputum
Sign in to saveSputum is mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways (the trachea and bronchi). It is commonly referred to as "phlegm". In medicine, sputum samples are usually used for a naked-eye examination, microbiological investigation of respiratory infections, and cytological investigations of respiratory system.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Abnormal sputum
- Medical condition (new).synonyms
- Mucus
- Medical condition (new).image
- Enterococcus histological pneumonia 01.png
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Cocci-shaped Enterococcus sp. bacteria taken from a pneumonia patient
- Medical condition (new).field
- Pulmonology
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
49,005 papers- Sputum handling for rheology.Scientific reports · 2023
- Update on sputum methodology.The European respiratory journal · 2000
- Efficacy of three sputum specimens for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2023
- Sputum induction: review of literature and proposal for a protocol.Sao Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina · 2003
- Sputum examination for early detection of lung cancer.Journal of clinical pathology · 2003
via PubMed
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Description
- Interpretation
- See also
- References
- External links
Sputum is mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways (the trachea and bronchi). It is commonly referred to as "phlegm". In medicine, sputum samples are usually used for a naked-eye examination, microbiological investigation of respiratory infections, and cytological investigations of respiratory system.
These naked-eye examinations have been found to be successful, but are subjective to the examiner (in a professional setting, a clinician). Current technologies exist that can analyze sputum more objectively, but are often expensive, complex, or difficult to use.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “sputum” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.