hepatization

(pathology) The conversion of tissue into a liverlike substance, as of the lungs during the exudative stage of pneumonia.

The conversion of a loose tissue into a firm mass like the substance of the liver, especially such a conversion of lung tissue in pneumonia.

Transformation into a liverlike mass, especially the solidified state of the lung in lobar pneumonia. The early stage, in which the pulmonary exudate is blood-stained, is called red hepatization. The later stage, in which the red cells disintegrate and a fibrinosuppurative exudate persists, is called gray hepatization.