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Empyema can be described as a disease in which fluid and pus from infected tissue can collect in of the many body cavaties. It is most commonly seen in the pleural cavity around the lungs in which pus can collect at times. Physician's will refer to this condition as empyema thoracis.

It can have many causes but it mostly seen as a complication from pneumonia. It can develop from three different phases: acute phase in which the pleural cavity fills with pus and a thin fluid. The second phase is when the fluid tends to thicken and becomes fibrous. The third phase can be chronic causing the lung to be covered with fibrous material. The second phase is when the fluid tends to thicken and become fibrous. The third phase can be chronic causing the lung to be covered with fibrous material.

The symptoms that are mostly frequently seen are pain in the pleural cavity, cough, fever, shortness of breath, and chest pain. The treatments can consist of using antibiotics like vancomycin and penicillin. Oxygen can be also used for people experiencing shortness of breath. The recovery is usually good and uneventful.

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