Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. Around 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kill about half of those affected. Typical symptoms of active TB are chronic cough with blood-containing mucus, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Infection of other organs can cause a wide range of symptoms.
Sputum is mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways. In medicine, sputum samples are usually used for a naked eye examination, microbiological investigation of respiratory infections and cytological investigations of respiratory systems. It is crucial that the specimen does not include any mucoid material from the nose or oral cavity.
The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of respiration in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respiratory mucosa.
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other symptoms may include shortness of breath, cough, fever, or weight loss, depending on the underlying cause. Pleurisy can be caused by a variety of conditions, including viral or bacterial infections, autoimmune disorders, and pulmonary embolism.
Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection caused by Histoplasma capsulatum. Symptoms of this infection vary greatly, but the disease affects primarily the lungs. Occasionally, other organs are affected; called disseminated histoplasmosis, it can be fatal if left untreated.
Pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium, the fibrous sac surrounding the heart. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp chest pain, which may also be felt in the shoulders, neck, or back. The pain is typically less severe when sitting up and more severe when lying down or breathing deeply. Other symptoms of pericarditis can include fever, weakness, palpitations, and shortness of breath. The onset of symptoms can occasionally be gradual rather than sudden.
A sanatorium, also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a healthy climate, usually in the countryside. The idea of healing was an important reason for the historical wave of establishments of sanatoriums, especially at the end of the 19th- and early 20th centuries. One sought, for instance, the healing of consumptives especially tuberculosis or alcoholism, but also of more obscure addictions and longings of hysteria, masturbation, fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Facility operators were often charitable associations such as the Order of St. John and the newly founded social welfare insurance companies.
Radiology (X-rays) is used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Abnormalities on chest radiographs may be suggestive of, but are never diagnostic of TB, but can be used to rule out pulmonary TB.
Atelectasis is the partial collapse or closure of a lung resulting in reduced or absent gas exchange. It is usually unilateral, affecting part or all of one lung. It is a condition where the alveoli are deflated down to little or no volume, as distinct from pulmonary consolidation, in which they are filled with liquid. It is often referred to informally as a collapsed lung, although more accurately it usually involves only a partial collapse, and that ambiguous term is also informally used for a fully collapsed lung caused by a pneumothorax.
Tuberculosis management describes the techniques and procedures utilized for treating tuberculosis (TB).
A pneumonectomy is a surgical procedure to remove a lung. It was first successfully performed in 1933 by Dr. Evarts Graham. This is not to be confused with a lobectomy or segmentectomy, which only removes one part of the lung.
Lobar pneumonia is a form of pneumonia characterized by inflammatory exudate within the intra-alveolar space resulting in consolidation that affects a large and continuous area of the lobe of a lung.
Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infection (MAI) is an atypical mycobacterial infection, i.e. one with nontuberculous mycobacteria or NTM, caused by Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), which is made of two Mycobacterium species, M. avium and M. intracellulare. This infection causes respiratory illness in birds, pigs, and humans, especially in immunocompromised people. In the later stages of AIDS, it can be very severe. It usually first presents as a persistent cough. It is typically treated with a series of three antibiotics for a period of at least six months.
An endobronchial valve (EBV) is a small, one-way valve, which may be implanted in an airway feeding the lung or part of lung. The valve allows air to be breathed out of the section of lung supplied, and prevents air from being breathed in. This leaves the rest of the lung to expand more normally and avoid air-trapping. Endobronchial valves are typically implanted using a flexible delivery catheter advanced through a bronchoscope in minimally invasive bronchoscopic lung volume reduction procedures in the treatment of severe emphysema. The valves are also removable if they are not working properly.
Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is a form of tuberculosis caused by bacteria that are resistant to some of the most effective anti-TB drugs. XDR-TB strains have arisen after the mismanagement of individuals with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a form of tuberculosis (TB) infection caused by bacteria that are resistant to treatment with at least two of the most powerful first-line anti-TB medications (drugs): isoniazid and rifampin. Some forms of TB are also resistant to second-line medications, and are called extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB).
Madonna Mary Swan-Abdalla was a Lakota woman. Born on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, Madonna Swan prevailed over extreme difficulties including the Native American tuberculosis epidemic of the 20th century to lead a fulfilled life. She overcame the terrible conditions of socio-economic deprivation, restricted education, poor health care, and confinement to the Indian tuberculosis sanatorium and the reservation, to attend college, become a Head Start teacher, marry, raise a child, and be named Native American Woman of the Year. Madonna Swan became an inspiration to both Native and non-Native women.
Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema.
Pulmonary agenesis is an inborn lung underdevelopment that is rare and potentially lethal. The disorder is caused by a complete developmental arrest of the primitive lung during embryonic life, and it is often associated with other developmental defects. Bilateral and unilateral pulmonary agenesis are classified, depending on whether one side of the lung or both sides are affected. Bilateral pulmonary agenesis is lethal, while the mortality rate of unilateral pulmonary agenesis is higher than 50%. Depending on the severity, the symptom ranges from none to various respiratory complaints. It is detectable prenatally, however, its nonspecific clinical features act as the obstacle for diagnosing. The exact cause of pulmonary agenesis is still obscure. However, theories have been raised regarding the vascular, iatrogenic, viral and genetic causes of pulmonary agenesis in an attempt to explain the pathogenesis of the disorder. In most cases of pulmonary agenesis, surgical resection is performed to remove the malformed lobe or the entire defected lung of the patient depending on the severity of the respiratory impairment.
Lung surgery is a type of thoracic surgery involving the repair or removal of lung tissue, and can be used to treat a variety of conditions ranging from lung cancer to pulmonary hypertension. Common operations include anatomic and nonanatomic resections, pleurodesis and lung transplants. Though records of lung surgery date back to the Classical Age, new techniques such as VATS continue to be developed.
