cardiopulmonary
Meaning of cardiopulmonary: Cardiopulmonary describes anything involving both the heart and lungs, which work together to circulate blood and exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Definition of cardiopulmonary
Cardiopulmonary means relating to both the heart and the lungs, two organs whose functions are closely linked in circulating blood and exchanging gases. The heart pumps blood to the lungs, where carbon dioxide is released and oxygen is absorbed, before oxygen-rich blood is circulated to the rest of the body.
The term appears in many clinical contexts, including cardiopulmonary examination, which assesses heart and lung sounds and function together, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, an emergency procedure used when breathing or heart activity has stopped. Cardiopulmonary testing, such as exercise stress testing, evaluates how well the heart and lungs work together under physical demand.
Because disease in one of these organs often affects the other, cardiopulmonary findings and symptoms, such as shortness of breath or reduced exercise tolerance, are frequently assessed together rather than in isolation.
How cardiopulmonary is built
- cardi/o Combining form · Greek heart
- pneum/o, pulmon/o Combining form · Greek and Latin lung, air, breathing
- -ac, -al, -ar, -ary, -eal, -ic Suffix · Greek and Latin pertaining to, relating to
A medical term is read from its ending backwards: the suffix first, then the prefix, then the root. See all 223 word parts.
Used in a sentence
A cardiopulmonary examination was performed to evaluate the patient's shortness of breath.
Good to know
Shortness of breath can arise from either cardiac or pulmonary disease, or from both together, which is why cardiopulmonary evaluation typically considers heart and lung function jointly rather than assuming a single source.
Word origin
Where “cardiopulmonary” comes from
Formed from cardio-, from Greek kardia, meaning "heart," and pulmonary, from Latin pulmo, meaning "lung."