The term coryza comes from the Greek kóryza, meaning ‘catarrh’, and describes acute inflammation of the nasal mucosa. In veterinary medicine it is often used for a highly contagious infectious process involving several agents in gallinaceous birds. Signs are mainly respiratory, although lesions may affect other systems. Veterinary students often remember the image of a hen with a swollen, almost closed eye. In many such cases, infection causes pus to accumulate in the skull’s sinuses and can even push the eye outwards. The photographs show a cockatiel whose pus had to be drained to help resolve the condition. It can affect all birds.
