Origin: Latin suffix -ary
Pulmonary has 2 different meanings across 1 category:
Pertaining to, having, or affecting the lungs.
"The doctor ordered a pulmonary exam because the patient was experiencing severe shortness of breath."
In plain English: Pulmonary means anything related to your lungs and how you breathe.
"The pulmonary function test checked how well her lungs were working."
Usage: Use pulmonary as an adjective specifically when describing conditions, diseases, or functions related to the lungs. This term is often paired with medical contexts such as pulmonary embolism or pulmonary fibrosis rather than general breathing issues.
Pulmonary comes from the Latin word pulmōnārius, which literally means "of the lungs." This term entered English through medical usage to describe anything related to the respiratory organs.