Tags: Disease.
Pulmonary edema (American English) or oedema (British English; both words from the Greek οἴδημα) is fluid accumulation in the air spaces and parenchyma of the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause respiratory failure. It is due to either failure of the left ventricle of the heart to adequately remove blood from the pulmonary circulation (cardiogenic pulmonary edema) or an injury to the lung parenchyma or vasculature of the lung (noncardiogenic pulmonary edema).
