hepatization /hep′ətīzā″shən/ [Gk, hepatizein, like the liver] , transformation of lung tissue into a solid mass resembling the liver, as in early pneumococcal pneumonia, in which consolidation and effusion of red blood cells in the alveoli produce red hepatization. In later stages of pneumococcal pneumonia, when white blood cells fill the alveoli, the consolidation becomes gray hepatization, or yellow hepatization, when infiltrated by fat deposits.
