Pleurisy

Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs, which can cause painful respiration and other symptoms. Pleurisy can be generated by a variety of infectious and non-infectious causes. more...

Symptoms

• Fever
• Cough
• Chills
• Shortness of breath
• Weight loss
• Poor appetite
• Sharp chest pain with breathing. Pain can limit the movement on the side of the chest with pleurisy.
• Rapid shallow breaths
• Inability to take a deep breath
• Itching in sites on the back (near the site of the lungs, but no visible rashes)

Famous cases

• Ballerina Anna Pavlova died of pleurisy, because the operation that would have saved her life would have left her unable to dance.
• Hernan Cortes, Conquistador (Conqueror) of Mexico, died of pleurisy at the age of 62.
• Opera star Enrico Caruso died from pleurisy.
• Renée Vivien, the lesbian poet, died of pleurisy at the age of 31.

Sources

Read more at Wikipedia.org