The pleural cavity, pleural space, or interpleural space, is the potential space between the pleurae of the pleural sac that surrounds each lung. A small amount of serous pleural fluid is maintained in the pleural cavity to enable lubrication between the membranes, and also to create a pressure gradient.
Pulmonary heart disease, also known as cor pulmonale, is the enlargement and failure of the right ventricle of the heart as a response to increased vascular resistance or high blood pressure in the lungs.
Pulmonary edema, also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive liquid accumulation in the tissue and air spaces of the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause hypoxemia and respiratory failure. It is due to either failure of the left ventricle of the heart to remove oxygenated blood adequately from the pulmonary circulation, or an injury to the lung tissue directly or blood vessels of the lung.
Asbestosis is long-term inflammation and scarring of the lungs due to asbestos fibers. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, cough, wheezing, and chest tightness. Complications may include lung cancer, mesothelioma, and pulmonary heart disease.
Pulmonary hypertension is a condition of increased blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath, fainting, tiredness, chest pain, swelling of the legs, and a fast heartbeat. The condition may make it difficult to exercise. Onset is typically gradual.
Interstitial lung disease (ILD), or diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD), is a group of respiratory diseases affecting the interstitium of the lungs. It concerns alveolar epithelium, pulmonary capillary endothelium, basement membrane, and perivascular and perilymphatic tissues. It may occur when an injury to the lungs triggers an abnormal healing response. Ordinarily, the body generates just the right amount of tissue to repair damage, but in interstitial lung disease, the repair process is disrupted, and the tissue around the air sacs (alveoli) becomes scarred and thickened. This makes it more difficult for oxygen to pass into the bloodstream. The disease presents itself with the following symptoms: shortness of breath, nonproductive coughing, fatigue, and weight loss, which tend to develop slowly, over several months. The average rate of survival for someone with this disease is between three and five years. The term ILD is used to distinguish these diseases from obstructive airways diseases.
Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory failure, pneumothorax, and lung cancer.
Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleurae, pleural cavity, the nerves and muscles of respiration. Respiratory diseases range from mild and self-limiting, such as the common cold, influenza, and pharyngitis to life-threatening diseases such as bacterial pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, tuberculosis, acute asthma, lung cancer, and severe acute respiratory syndromes, such as COVID-19. Respiratory diseases can be classified in many different ways, including by the organ or tissue involved, by the type and pattern of associated signs and symptoms, or by the cause of the disease.
Portopulmonary hypertension (PPH) is defined by the coexistence of portal and pulmonary hypertension. PPH is a serious complication of liver disease, present in 0.25 to 4% of all patients with cirrhosis. Once an absolute contraindication to liver transplantation, it is no longer, thanks to rapid advances in the treatment of this condition. Today, PPH is comorbid in 4-6% of those referred for a liver transplant.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), or (formerly) fibrosing alveolitis, is a rare, progressive illness of the respiratory system, characterized by the thickening and stiffening of lung tissue, associated with the formation of scar tissue. It is a type of chronic scarring lung disease characterized by a progressive and irreversible decline in lung function. The tissue in the lungs becomes thick and stiff, which affects the tissue that surrounds the air sacs in the lungs. Symptoms typically include gradual onset of shortness of breath and a dry cough. Other changes may include feeling tired, and abnormally large and dome shaped finger and toenails. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, pneumonia or pulmonary embolism.
Usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) is a form of lung disease characterized by progressive scarring of both lungs. The scarring (fibrosis) involves the pulmonary interstitium. UIP is thus classified as a form of interstitial lung disease.
Malignant pleural effusion is a condition in which cancer causes an abnormal amount of fluid to collect between the thin layers of tissue (pleura) lining the outside of the lung and the wall of the chest cavity. Lung cancer and breast cancer account for about 50-65% of malignant pleural effusions. Other common causes include pleural mesothelioma and lymphoma.
Hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) or veno-occlusive disease with immunodeficiency is a potentially life-threatening condition in which some of the small veins in the liver are obstructed. It is a complication of high-dose chemotherapy given before a bone marrow transplant and/or excessive exposure to hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. It is classically marked by weight gain due to fluid retention, increased liver size, and raised levels of bilirubin in the blood. The name sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) is preferred if hepatic veno-occlusive disease happens as a result of chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation.
Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE), describes a medical syndrome involving both pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema. The combination is most commonly found in male smokers. Pulmonary function tests typically show preserved lung volume with very low transfer factor.
Alveolar capillary dysplasia (ACD) is a rare, congenital diffuse lung disease characterized by abnormal blood vessels in the lungs that cause highly elevated pulmonary blood pressure and an inability to effectively oxygenate and remove carbon dioxide from the blood. ACD typically presents in newborn babies within hours of birth as rapid and labored breathing, blue-colored lips or skin, quickly leading to respiratory failure and death. Atypical forms of ACD have been reported with initially milder symptoms and survival of many months before the onset of respiratory failure or lung transplantation.
Pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis (PCH) is a disease affecting the blood vessels of the lungs, where abnormal capillary proliferation and venous fibrous intimal thickening result in progressive increase in vascular resistance. It is a rare cause of pulmonary hypertension, and occurs predominantly in young adults. Together with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease, PCH comprises WHO Group I' causes for pulmonary hypertension. Indeed, there is some evidence to suggest that PCH and pulmonary veno-occlusive disease are different forms of a similar disease process.
Asbestos-related diseases are disorders of the lung and pleura caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibres. Asbestos-related diseases include non-malignant disorders such as asbestosis, diffuse pleural thickening, pleural plaques, pleural effusion, rounded atelectasis and malignancies such as lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma.
Chloe Temtchine is an American singer-songwriter.
Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a long-term disease caused by a blockage in the blood vessels that deliver blood from the heart to the lungs. These blockages cause increased resistance to flow in the pulmonary arterial tree which in turn leads to rise in pressure in these arteries. The blockages either result from organised blood clots that usually originate from the deep veins of the lower limbs of the body (thromboembolism) and lodge in the pulmonary arterial tree after passing through the right side of the heart. The blockages may also result from scar tissue that forms at the site where the clot has damaged the endothelial lining of the pulmonary arteries, causing permanent fibrous obstruction. Most patients have a combination of microvascular and macrovascular obstruction. Some patients may present with normal or near-normal pulmonary pressures at rest despite symptomatic disease. These patients are labelled as having chronic thromboembolic disease (CTED).
