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Lung disease Health Article

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Definition

Lung disease is any disease or disorder where lung function does not work properly. There are three main types of lung disease:

Obstructive lung disease -- a decrease in the exhaled air flow caused by a narrowing or blockage of the airways, which can occur with asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
Restrictive lung disease -- a decrease in the total volume of air that the lungs are able to hold. Often, this is due to a decrease in the elasticity of the lungs themselves or caused by a problem related to the expansion of the chest wall during inhalation.
A defect in the ability of the lung's air sac tissue to move oxygen into a person's blood.

Most lung diseases actually involve a combination of these categories, such as emphysema, which involves both airflow obstruction and oxygenation problems.

Major lung diseases include:

Asthma
Chronic bronchitis
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
Emphysema
Interstitial lung disease
Pulmonary fibrosis
Sarcoidosis

Other lung diseases include:

Reviewer Info: David A. Kaufman, M.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.; ADAM Health Illustrated Encyclopedia, 11/13/2006

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