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Pneum- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “lung” or “breath.” It is used in a few medical and scientific terms.

Pneum- comes from the Greek ��Ա�ú��ō��, meaning “lung.” �ʲԱ�ú��ō�� helps form the Greek word ��Ա�ܳ��Dz�í��, source of the English pneumonia, “inflammation of the lungs with congestion.”

Pneum- is a variant of pneumo-, which itself is a variant of both the combining forms pneumato-, meaning “air, breath, spirit,” and pneumono-, meaning “lung.” Learn more in our �y��vlogs That Use articles for all these forms.

The Greek ��Ա�ú��ō�� is also related to the combining form -pnea.

Want to know more? Read our �y��vlogs That Use -pnea article.

Instances of pneum- are rare, but one example of a word that features pneumon- is pneumectomy, also called a pneumonectomy, which is an “excision of part or all of a lung,” a surgical procedure.

We now know that pneum- means “lung.” The combining form -ectomy means “excision, removal.” So, a pneumectomy literally translates to “lung removal.”

What are some other forms that pneum- may be commonly confused with?

• -pnea
• pleur-
• pulmo-

Note that pneum. is sometimes used as an abbreviation for pneumatic (as in a pneumatic drill) and pneumatics, “the branch of physics that deals with the mechanical properties of air and other gases.”

A pneumolith is a type of calculus, or stone or concretion, that can form in the body.

Keeping in mind the meaning of pneumo- and its variant pneum-,  where in the body is a pneumolith found?