Lung Disease
Lung disease is any disease or disorder where lung function does not work properly. There are three main types of lung disease:
- Obstructive lung disease - a decrease in the exhaled air flow caused by a narrowing or blockage of the airways, which can occur with asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
- Restrictive lung disease - a decrease in the total volume of air that the lungs are able to hold. Often, this is due to a decrease in the elasticity of the lungs themselves or caused by a problem related to the expansion of the chest wall during inhalation. A defect in the ability of the lung's air sac tissue to move oxygen into a person's blood.
- Most lung diseases actually involve a combination of these categories, such as emphysema, which involves both airflow obstruction and oxygenation problems.
Major lung diseases include:
Asthma
Chronic bronchitis
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
Emphysema
Interstitial lung disease
Pulmonary fibrosis
Sarcoidosis
Other lung diseases include:
Asbestosis
Aspergilloma
Aspergillosis
Aspergillosis - acute invasive
Atelectasis
Eosinophilic pneumonia
Lung cancer
Metastatic lung cancer
Necrotizing pneumonia
Pleural effusion
Pneumoconiosis
Pneumonia
Pneumonia in immunodeficient patient
Pneumothorax
Pulmonary actinomycosis
Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis
Pulmonary anthrax
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformation
Pulmonary edema
Pulmonary embolus
Pulmonary histiocytosis X (eosinophilic granuloma)
Pulmonary hypertension
Pulmonary nocardiosis
Pulmonary tuberculosis
Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease
Rheumatoid lung disease
Lung disease pertains to any disease that damages the functions of the lungs. Currently, lung diseases are the third leading cause of mortality in the United States and it is leading cause of mortality in infants.
At present, there are around thirty five million Americans who are living with lung diseases.
Lung diseases are divided in two categories. The first category is obstructive lung disease and the second category is restrictive lung disease.
Obstructive Lung Diseases
Obstructive lung disease happens when the airways is narrowed or has blockage. The result of obstructive lung disease is decreased in exhaling air flow.
Examples of Obstructive lung disease are:
- Asthma
- Emphysema
- Bronchiectasis
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Restrictive Lung Disease
Restrictive lung disease causes loss of tissues in the lungs, thus, reduce the ability of the lungs to exhale and it decrease the ability of the lungs to transfer oxygen with the blood.
Examples of Restrictive lung diseases are:
- Pneumonia
- Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Lung cancer
Common Lung Diseases
Some common lung diseases are:
- Asthma
- Lung Cancer
- COPD
- Emphysema
- Tuberculosis
- Cystic Fibrosis
Understanding Lung Disease Recommended Resources:
The University of Chicago
Rare Lung Diseases Consortium
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