The high content of air in the lungs gives them a nearly transparent appearance on chest X-rays and CT scans. In contrast, areas of solid tissue within the lungs appear as white spots with these imaging techniques. A spot on the lung is an...
Lung granulomas are clumps of chronically inflamed tissue usually caused by a fungal or bacterial infection. They can also form due to noninfectious diseases, or from irritation of lung tissue by a foreign body. Granulomas consist of clusters of...
Calcium is a necessary mineral for bone health. In certain conditions, however, calcium may form small growths in the lungs or other organs. When a calcium growth appears in the lungs, it is called a pulmonary granuloma, according to...
Granulomatous diseases are a group of disorders characterized by a particular type of immune response termed granulomatous inflammation. Specific types of immune cells are present in granulomatous lesions, also called granulomas, giving them an...
Many of the blood vessel diseases that vascular surgeons see are due to atherosclerosis (the narrowing and hardening of your arteries), according to Peter Lin, M.D., Associate Professor of Surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine. However, blood...
Anosmia is the loss of the sense of smell. Some people have congenital anosmia, meaning they were born without the ability to detect odors. Other times, people develop anosmia as a result of other disorders. In some diseases, such as allergies or...
Benign lung nodules are small, noncancerous masses of tissue typically discovered incidentally on a chest X-ray or CT scan. One out of every 500 to 1,000 chest X-rays reveals an unexpected lung nodule. The chance of finding a lung nodule is even...
The lungs are shaped like large, spongy, slightly concave cones on either side of the chest cavity. Made of multitudes of air sacs, they are lightweight and elastic. The right lung is larger than the left and has three lobes; the left lung has two...
The Brazil nut is a large nut that comes from the castanheiro de para tree in Brazil's rainforests. Each serving of about six to eight nuts contains 4 g of protein and 7 grams each of monosaturated and polysaturated fat, according to the...
Pulmonary nodules are round spots less than 3 cm in diameter, or a little over 1 inch. Seen in the lungs on chest X-rays or CT scans, pulmonary nodules appear on around one in 500 X-rays, the University of Rochester reports. Nodules on the lungs...
Cavities in the lungs are formed by inflammation of lung tissue leading to the development of an abscess. When the abscess ruptures, the contents are expectorated, leaving behind an air- and fluid-filled cavity. Chest X-rays and computer...
The act of getting a tattoo is a form of self-expression that's accompanied by several risks. Even if you visit a reputable tattoo parlor with clean conditions, the tattoo ink that enters your skin can carry health risks. Tattoo dyes, especially...
Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease characterized by noncaseating granulomas. These granulomas can affect any organ in the body and manifestations in the lung are the most common. In addition to the granulomas, those who have been diagnosed...
The kidney is a vital organ. Without at least one properly functioning kidney, the human body cannot survive. Many different diseases affect how the kidney works and some, like diabetes and hypertension, can even lead to end stage renal disease,...
It is the job of your immune system to protect you against foreign invaders. Your antibodies are a weapon in that fight. But in an autoimmune disease, your immune system mistakenly sees your tissues as foreign and attacks them. Rheumatoid factor...
Sarcoidosis is an immune disorder that causes inflammation in different organs of the body. The chronic disease has no cure, but treatment options do exist. Often, physicians prescribe medications to control the inflammation. Although no research...
Sarcoidosis, a disease that may impact both internal and external organs, often requires medical intervention, although alternative and complementary treatments exist. One of those alternative therapies, the Blood Type Diet, may help, although no...
A lung nodule is a small mass of abnormal tissue growth in the lungs. The nodules can be generally divided into benign or malignant lesions, but there are many causes for their presence in the lungs. The majority of lung nodules are benign, but...
Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is a contagious infection that primarily affects the lungs. It is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. While pulmonary tuberculosis is curable, it can lead to serious complications in certain...
A systemic disease is a disease that involves the entire body or many of the organs of the body. An ocular manifestation of a systemic disease is how that disease affects the eyes. Indeed, many times an eye exam can result in the diagnosis that...
You may have a calcium deposit and not even know it's there. Or you may have some that you are all too aware of. There is no single cause of calcium deposits. The formation of bone tissue is controlled by two hormones; the parathyroid hormone, and...
A pulmonary nodule is a small lesion found incidentally in about one out of every 500 chest x-rays, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center. Most pulmonary nodules are benign, but they can represent early cancer. It is important to...
Tuberculosis, also known simply as TB, comes in two forms: active TB and latent, or inactive, TB. Active TB primarily develops in the lungs in adults, but may also affect other areas of the body. In infants and small children, disseminated active...
Breathing sustains life, and when disease alters our ability to breathe in, and breathe out, it can become life altering. Human respiratory system diseases have a profound effect on how we absorb oxygen and release carbon dioxide, as every cell in...
Sarcoidosis is a poorly understood disease characterized by chronic inflammation and the growth of lumps in one or more body organs. Due to the unknown origin and difficulty in treating sarcoidosis, patients may turn to alternative treatments,...
Sometimes chest x-rays and other imaging techniques identify multiple pulmonary nodules. These are lesions in the lungs with a multitude of possible causes. If the cause of these nodules is not already known, their presence on imaging indicates...
Interstitial lung disease, ILD or pulmonary fibrosis, includes more than 200 chronic disorders of the lungs, according to the University of Chicago Medical Center. The term applies to scarring of the tissue in the lungs surrounding the air sacs....
Joint pain, sometimes called arthralgia, is discomfort that occurs in a location where two bones meet. Pain can occur in joints anywhere in the body, including the hands, back, knees, neck and shoulders. There are many common causes of joint pain,...
The immune system is composed of specialized cells such as B cells that make antibodies (protein), T cells that kill pathogens (bacteria, viruses or fungus) and white blood cells that fight off infection. MedlinePlus says that immunodeficiency...
