Ousted president Hosni Mubarak has a build-up of fluid in his lungs and cracked ribs, Egypt's official news agency MENA reported after he was transferred from prison to military hospital for treatment.

The state prosecutor ordered Mubarak's transfer on Thursday after his health deteriorated, a prosecution source had said, more than a week after he was briefly hospitalised after slipping in a prison bathroom and hurting his head.

MENA reported late on Thursday that x-rays showed that Mubarak fractured several ribs in the fall and also had a build-up of fluid in the membranes lining his lungs.

The agency cited a medical report prepared at the prosecutor's request.

Mubarak, who is serving a life sentence for his role in the killing of protesters during the uprising that led to his resignation in February 2011, will return to jail after treatment, the prosecution source said.

A court sentenced the veteran strongman to life in June for failing to prevent the killings of protesters during the 18-day revolt that ended his three-decade rule. Some 850 people died in the uprising.

Since his fall from power, Mubarak's health has appeared to worsen significantly, and he has had repeated health scares.

He spent nearly a month in hospital after falling unconscious on June 19, with state media declaring him clinically dead on arrival. Medical sources, however, said he appeared to have fallen into a temporary coma.

During his time in power, the subject of Mubarak's health was very much off limits.

In 2004, he underwent surgery in Germany for a slipped disc, and he returned to Germany in March 2010 for the removal of his gall bladder and a growth on the small intestine.

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