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 cancer is a devastating medical condition that begins with abnormal cell changes in your lung. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of lung cancer include trouble breathing, chest pain, unexplained weight loss, wheezing and hoarseness. You...
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...
The ability to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide through the lungs is critical to life. The lungs are a common sight, however, for infections because the natural environment of the lungs is moist and well oxygenated--a perfect breeding ground...
Lung cancer refers to abnormal division of cells and uncontrolled growth of lung tissue. It is the most common cancer in both men and female in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. Cancer in the lungs sometimes results from...
Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer and results in the common early symptom of persistent coughing, according to the Merck Manuals. Primary lung cancer starts in the lung cells and may develop in airways attached to the...
Asthma is a common immunological problem that affects the respiratory system and impedes lung function. Asthma usually manifests itself in children, though it can also appear for the first time in adults. Asthma can be caused by a number of...
Bronchitis is an infection that results in excess mucus and inflammation of the airways to the lungs. Bronchitis can be acute, following a cold or infection, or chronic, caused by damage to the bronchial tubes. To diagnose bronchitis, a doctor...
Diagnostic procedures, ranging from non-invasive to invasive testing, are valuable diagnostic tools for the cardiovascular system. These procedures can catch cardiac problems before symptoms develop in most cases. Based on your needs, the...
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...
Just so you know that you receive the most appropriate treatment, your doctor should check the extent to which your oral cancer has spread. First, a tissue sample out of your mouth should test positive. Only then, the doctor can use one or more...
According to Stanford University Hospital and Clinics, computerized axial tomography, or CAT, scan machines combine special sophisticated X-ray equipment with computer technology to produce multiple cross-sectional images. Unlike a single X-ray,...
Tuberculosis, or TB, is a highly contagious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacterium can cause damage to the lungs as well as to other parts of the body. If improperly diagnosed or not medically treated, TB can...
Lung cancer is a complex medical condition, which is the result of cells within the lungs developing the ability to grow very quickly and spread to other tissues. How far the cancerous cells have spread is important for determining a patient's...
An upper respiratory infection, a cold or the flu are usually treated with over-the-counter remedies, plenty of fluids and rest. However, when symptoms persist or get worse, they can indicate a more serious condition. Consulting a doctor can help...
Lumbar scoliosis is a disorder of the spine in which the lower back, or lumbar area of the spine, is curved to the left or right. This can occur at birth in congenital scoliosis, or in adulthood as a result of neuromuscular disease or another...
The body is designed to operate in a very narrow pH range, which is a measurement of the amount of acids and bases present in the blood. Normally, the body controls acid levels using the lungs and the kidneys. If the blood becomes too acidic, the...
Interstitial lung disease, or ILD, refers to a collection of diseases that cause lung fibrosis, or gradual lung scarring. ILD's damage is irreversible, although prescription drugs may inhibit further damage to the lungs. If you have this...
Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia, also called BOOP, is a somewhat rare but serious lung disease. BOOP causes inflammation of the bronchioles, called bronchiolitis. This condition also involves the surrounding lung tissue. The alveoli,...
When a lung deflates (collapses), sometimes it will stay in that state, leading to a condition known as atelectasis. As the Merck Manual of Diseases notes, atelectasis can cause shortness of breath. The severity of the trouble breathing depends on...
Lung cancer is a chronic and devastating condition that is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic. Physical manifestations of lung cancer include a chronic cough, trouble breathing, wheezing,...
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...
Pulmonary hypertension makes it very hard to breathe. This condition, known as PH or PAH, is a rare and potential life threatening disorder of the blood vessels in the lung that causes the pressure in the pulmonary artery to rise above the normal...
End stage breast cancer is also known as stage IV breast cancer, the most advanced stage of the disease. According to Imaginis, a women's health resource, during this stage, the cancer has spread to other organs of the body. The three most common...
Pneumonia is an acute infection of the lungs. According to the World Health Organization, it is the leading cause of death in children worldwide, causing more fatalities than measles, AIDS and malaria combined. The symptoms of pneumonia in...
Numerous conditions can cause left flank pain, or pain on the left side of the torso. According to the Clinical Methods website, flank pain is a sensation of pain or distress in the part of the torso between the ribs and the ilia, or hip bones,...
Computed tomography (CT) is a non-invasive diagnostic tool in which a source producing x-rays and an x-ray detector are rotated around a person. According to Merck Manuals, an online medical library, CT scanners have 4 to 64, or even more, rows of...
Asbestos can remain in the lungs for many years, causing a range of diseases and breathing problems, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Once common in many industries, asbestos is a mineral made of small fibers that can be...
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...
Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory medical condition affecting the parenchymal tissue of the lungs. It occurs after long-term, heavy exposure to asbestos. Sufferers have severe shortness of breath and are at an increased risk regarding several...
