Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, [1] 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.
Shortness of breath (SOB), known as dyspnea (in AmE) or dyspnoea (in BrE), is an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to breathe well enough. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of breathing discomfort that consists of qualitatively distinct sensations that vary in intensity", and recommends evaluating dyspnea by assessing the intensity of its distinct ...
The etiologies of each type of respiratory failure (see below) may differ, as well. Different types of conditions may cause respiratory failure: Conditions that reduce the flow of air into and out of the lungs, including physical obstruction by foreign bodies or masses and reduced breathing due to drugs or changes to the chest. [1]
Early symptoms of emphysema vary. They can include a cough (with or without sputum), wheezing, a fast breathing rate, breathlessness on exertion, and a feeling of tightness in the chest. There may be frequent cold or flu infections. [1] Other symptoms may include anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep problems and weight loss.
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. [3] [4] Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are many circumstances that can induce asphyxia, all of which are characterized by the inability of a ...
Chest fluoroscopy is a real-time X-ray image (sometimes referred to as an X-ray movie) to view breathing and coughing. [27] Computerized tomography (CT) A CT scan uses a tube with multiple X-ray machines to build a 3D image from 2D X-ray images of multiple cross-sections. Radiolucent objects can be better captured on CT than X-ray. [28]
Respiratory arrest is a serious medical condition caused by apnea or respiratory dysfunction severe enough that it will not sustain the body (such as agonal breathing). Prolonged apnea refers to a patient who has stopped breathing for a long period of time. If the heart muscle contraction is intact, the condition is known as respiratory arrest.
Factors that may induce or sustain [2] hyperventilation include: physiological stress, anxiety or panic disorder, high altitude, head injury, stroke, respiratory disorders such as asthma, pneumonia, or hyperventilation syndrome, [5] cardiovascular problems such as pulmonary embolisms, anemia, an incorrectly calibrated medical respirator, [1] [3 ...