Pulmonary & Respiratory Medicine

Lung Diseases

Lung disease refers to many sorts of diseases or disorders that prevent the lungs from functioning properly. Lung disease can affect respiratory function or the ability to breathe, as well as lung function, which is how well the lungs work. There are many various lung diseases, several which are caused by bacterial, viral, or fungal infections. Other lung diseases are related to environmental factors, including asthma, mesothelioma, and carcinoma. Chronic lower respiratory illness may be a collection of conditions that has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, and bronchitis. Together, chronic lower respiratory disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. In other lung conditions, such as lung fibrosis, scarring of the lung tissue, which can be caused by various factors, and pneumonia, a bacterial or viral infection in which the air sacs fill with fluid, the lungs have a reduced ability to hold air. Lung cancer may be a disease caused by abnormal cell growth. Although most cases of lung cancer start in the lungs, some cases start in other parts of the body and spread to the lungs. The two main types of lung cancer - small cell and non-small cell - grow and spread in different ways, and each type can be treated differently.