epiglottitis

1 8.5

A swelling of the small flap at the tongue base that makes swallowing or breathing hard and causes fever

noun
/ˌɛpɪɡlɑˈtaɪtɪs/

Specialized

: epiglotitis

Examples

Every severe sore throat was a fear of epiglottitis.

Blog text (5)
Around this time, she developed epiglottitis and, because of difficulty swallowing, experienced a 40-pound weight loss.

Academic text (2007)
The second case describes the unusual presentation of epiglottitis in caustic alkali ingestion.

Academic text (2007)
The doctor diagnosed her with epiglottitis after she reported a severe sore throat and difficulty swallowing.
He was hospitalized due to epiglottitis, which caused a high fever and trouble breathing.
Children can suffer from epiglottitis, leading to swelling that makes it hard for them to swallow or breathe.

How Severe

obstruction

37 4.4

epiglottitis

Specialized

1 8.5

sore throat

31 1.3

Surface Forms

epiglottitis singular

epiglottitides plural

Morphology

epiglottitis = epiglottis (transparent) = epiglottis + itis

A standard medical formation: 'epiglottis' (the anatomical structure) + the productive suffix '-itis' meaning inflammation, so the meaning is directly derivable.

Etymology

Epiglottitis comes from three parts: epi- meaning 'above', glottis the part of the throat that helps the voice and breathing, and -itis meaning 'inflammation', as in tonsillitis. So, epiglottitis is the swelling of the small flap above the voice box, which is why it causes a very sore throat and trouble swallowing or breathing.