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Lung disease

Pulmonary mass - side view chest X-ray
Pulmonary mass - side view chest X-ray 		Lung mass, right upper lobe - CT scan
Lung mass, right upper lobe - CT scan 		Lung mass, right lung - CT scan
Lung mass, right lung - CT scan 		Lung mass, right upper lung - chest X-ray
Lung mass, right upper lung - chest X-ray 		Lung nodule - front view chest X-ray
Lung nodule - front view chest X-ray
Lung nodule, right lower lung - CT scan
Lung nodule, right lower lung - CT scan 		Lung with squamous cell cancer - CT scan
Lung with squamous cell cancer - CT scan 		Secondhand Smoke and Lung Cancer
Secondhand Smoke and Lung Cancer 		Yellow nail syndrome
Yellow nail syndrome 		Respiratory system
Respiratory system

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:

Other lung diseases include:

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Symptoms

Signs and tests

Treatment

Support Groups

Expectations (prognosis)

Complications

Calling your health care provider

Prevention

Review Date: 11/13/2006
Reviewd 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.