CONGESTION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does congestion mean? 

• CONGESTION (noun)
  The noun CONGESTION has 2 senses:

1. excessive accumulation of blood or other fluid in a body part

2. excessive crowding

  Familiarity information: CONGESTION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONGESTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Excessive accumulation of blood or other fluid in a body part

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("congestion" is a kind of...):

symptom ((medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "congestion"):

hydrothorax (accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity (the space between the lungs and the walls of the chest) often resulting from disease of the heart or kidneys)

haemothorax; hemothorax (accumulation of blood in the pleural cavity (the space between the lungs and the walls of the chest))

hyperaemia; hyperemia (increased blood in an organ or other body part)

pulmonary congestion (congestion in the lungs)

stuffiness (state of obstruction or stoppage or air in the nose or throat)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Excessive crowding

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

congestion; over-crowding

Context example:

traffic congestion

Hypernyms ("congestion" is a kind of...):

crowding (a situation in which people or things are crowded together)

Derivation:

congest (become or cause to become obstructed)

 Context examples 

When it occurs in the nose or sinuses, it may cause symptoms similar to those caused by sinusitis, such as nasal congestion.

(Inverted papilloma, NCI Dictionary)

Increased sensitivity to the adverse effects of alcohol, which can include nasal congestion, skin flushes, heart dysrhythmias, nausea, vomiting, indigestion and headaches.

(Alcohol Intolerance, NCI Thesaurus)

Congestion is isolated to a limited area in the mucosa.

(Focal Congestion of the Mouse Intestinal Tract, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

The principal symptoms are fever, congestion of the ocular conjunctivae, reddening of the lips and oral cavity, protuberance of tongue papillae, and edema or erythema of the extremities.

(Kawasaki Disease, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Failure of adequate output by the left ventricle despite an increase in distending pressure and in end-diastolic volume, with dyspnea, orthopnea, and other signs and symptoms of pulmonary congestion and edema.

(Left Ventricular Failure, NCI Thesaurus)

Tissue congestion due to the obstruction of venous blood flow return.

(Passive Congestion, NCI Thesaurus)

Myrtle leaf oil is taken internally for urinary infections, digestive problems, bronchial congestion, and dry coughs.

(Myrtle Leaf Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

Clinical manifestations may include dyspnea, orthopnea, and other signs and symptoms of pulmonary congestion and edema.

(Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

Phenylephrine hydrochloride, a direct-acting sympathicomimetic amine, activates alpha-adrenergic receptors in the nasal mucosa thereby causing vasoconstriction, reduces swelling of nasal mucous membranes and decreases nasal and sinus congestion.

(Entex, NCI Thesaurus)

Hirudotherapy is mainly used in trauma and plastic and reconstructive surgery to salvage tissue flaps and skin grafts whose viability is threatened by venous congestion.

(Hirudotherapy, NCI Thesaurus)