sputumn.
/ˈspjuːtəm/, U.S. /ˈspjudəm/ Medicine.
Saliva or spittle mixed with mucus or purulent matter, and expectorated in certain diseased states of the lungs, chest, or throat; a mass or quantity of this. spec. (see quot. 19732).
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the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > mucus excreted > [noun]
collop1589
sneezings1607
exsufflation1666
sputum1684
sixpence1773
candle1858
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > discharge or flux > [noun] > sputum
sputum1684
spit1897
singular.
plural.1829 S. Cooper Good's Study Med. (ed. 3) II. 470 Frequently the characteristic sputa are observed only at the very beginning of the disease.1876 J. S. Bristowe Treat. Theory & Pract. Med. ii. iii. 437 With the advance of the disease..the sputa usually become increased in quantity.1684 tr. S. Blankaart Physical Dict. 267 Sputum, a Liquor thicker than ordinary Spittle.
1784 Med. Communications 1 397 The qualities of the sputum.
1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 9 378 Although the cough continues, the expectoration is more free, the sputum being of a thicker consistence and milder quality.
1881 Tablet 28 Feb. 358 Some of the sputum left on the edge of the cup.
1973 Lancet 24 Feb. 420/1 Bacteriologists and exfoliative cytologists often report on a specimen sent as sputum: ‘No sputum present, saliva only.’
1973 Lancet 24 Feb. 420/1 Sputum is material brought up from the trachea by the actions of coughing or hawking, or the same material spat out with (usually) an admixture of saliva. (Material hawked up into the pharynx and swallowed is generally referred to as swallowed sputum, so the first half of this definition is necessary—sputum is sputum even if it is not spat out.)
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1684