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 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...
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...
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...
Pulmonary nodules are small round or oval spots on one or both of the lungs that are less than 3 cm in diameter, according to the University of Colorado Hospital. Though a pulmonary nodule can be a sign of lung cancer, National Jewish Health...
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease characterized by flare-ups and periods of remission. It is a systemic disease and therefore can affect any part of the body. However, its effects are typically seen in the small joints of the...
As the CT scan became more popularly available, people tried to expand its use from a diagnostic tool to a screening tool. The use of CT scans in screening smokers for lung cancer became particularly controversial. Since 85 percent of all lung...
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease primarily affecting the joints. It is an extremely painful illness, often resulting in disfigurement and destruction of joints. The Centers for Disease Control and...
A biopsy of the lungs is a diagnostic procedure during which a doctor removes a small portion of the lung tissue for further evaluation. Typically, this test is performed on patients with suspected lung disease or infection, such as lung cancer or...
Spots on the lungs as revealed by a chest x-ray are usually indicators of some type of lung disease. Chest x-rays that reveal spots or lesions of the lung tissue involve the structure of the lung tissue. Scarring or inflammation of the tissue make...
In medicine, compliance and elasticity are different ways to describe how stretchy, springy or flexible something is. The more compliant the lungs are, the more they are able to stretch in response to a force, and the lower the compliance, the...
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...
In 1994, my dad began a nine-month battle with lung cancer. He was a career Coast Guardsmen, and as a search-and-rescue diver he had discipline and endurance that likely doubled his time fighting the disease. At the time, I had recently fallen in...
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease that primarily affects the body's joints. However, it may also have significant effects on the lungs. Chronic inflammation can lead to scarring of lung tissue, swelling of the tissue lining the...
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic. Should you begin displaying symptoms, such as coughing up blood, shortness of breath and a chronic cough, undergo testing as...
Lung malignancies, or lung cancers, are aggressive lesions that threaten a person's health and life. Lung malignancies can originate from cells of the lungs or occur from the spread of cancer cells originating from other parts of the body....
Lung cancer is an insidious disease and initial diagnosis is often based on incidental radiographic findings with few obvious symptoms. However, symptoms that tend to raise suspicion in patients and cause them to initially suspect pathology start...
In the lungs, the largest tubes, known as bronchi, subdivide into millions of smaller and smaller tubes. The smallest tubes have thin walls and are adjacent to blood vessels, allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to exchange between the lungs and the...
Black lung, also known as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, describes a lung disease caused by the inhalation of coal dust or graphite. Initially, coal dust in the lungs causes few problems. Over time; however, the dust accumulates in the lungs,...
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...
As early as the 17th century and increasingly with the rise of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, coal miners became aware of an occupational hazard: the development of lung disease. Not only is breathing dust hard on the lungs but...
Nodules are solid or fluid-filled lumps that form within the region affected. Nodules are commonly associated with thyroid conditions but also appear in the lungs or on the skin. The American Academy of Family Physicians notes that thyroid nodules...
Exposure to viruses, bacteria, bites and irritants can all cause changes in the skins appearance, color and texture. Many rashes go away on their own, while others require treatment by a medical professional.
Water belly altitude disease, also known as ascites, results in the fluid build-up in the abdomen of birds, particularly chickens. While exacerbated at high altitude, chickens reared at moderate and low altitude can also develop the disease. While...
The lungs can be divided up into basic tissue types. The airways are responsible for transmitting gases between the lungs and the environment. The alveoli are millions of tiny sacs in the lungs that exchange gases between the lungs and the blood....
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,...
Black lung, also referred to as coal workers' pneumoconiosis, occurs from breathing the dust from coal or graphite, especially while mining. Long-term exposure increases the risk of inhaling dust and causes scarring of the lungs. Once dust is...
Cancers are named after the tissues from where they originate. Adenocarcinomas arise from cells lining glands of organs such as the breast, lung, colon, stomach, cervix and esophagus. Cancers arise from cells with uncontrolled cell growth and...
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, which means it is caused by a malfunction in your body's immune system, causing what are usually protective functions to overreact. Unlike osteoarthritis, which generally affects individual joints...
