Sputum

(spu’ ’-him) [spuere, to spit; //., Sputa~\. The secretion ejected from the mouth in spitting. It consists of saliva and mucus from the nasal fo a and the fauces. In diseased conditions of the air-pa ages or lungs it maybe purulent, mucopurulent, fibrinous, or bloody. S. crudum, the scanty, viscid expectoration of the early stages of acute bronchitis. S, Nummular, a sputum characterized by round, coin-like ma es; it is seen in pulmonary tuberculosis. S., Rusty, the dark-colored sputum of lobar pneumonia, the color of which is due to the admixture of blood. 596