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Lung disease

• Overview

Definition:

Lung disease is any disease or disorder where lung function does not work properly. There are three main types of lung disease:

1. 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 .
2. 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.
3. 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
• Pneumocystosis
• 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

• Review Date: 11/13/2006
• Reviewed By: David A. Kaufman, M.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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