Pulmonology (Latin pulmo, logos – “the doctrine of the lungs”) is a branch of medicine that studies diseases of the respiratory system: lungs, pleura, trachea and bronchi, clinical manifestations of diseases, specifics of diagnosis, methods of treatment and prevention. The respiratory system includes not only the airways, but also the central nervous system, the chest (sternocostal frame, intercostal muscles, diaphragm), the circulatory system in the lungs. Therefore, in a broad sense, the field of competence of pulmonology also includes pathology of other organs of the thoracic cavity, morphologically and functionally related to the respiratory organs.
The organs that pulmonology studies and treats, in addition to the lungs, include: vascular and nerve bundles of the lung root, lymph nodes, thymus gland, diaphragm, etc. The main function of the respiratory system is to provide gas exchange in the lungs.
Pulmonologists are engaged in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lung and bronchial diseases. Surgical treatment of diseases of the lungs and other organs of the thoracic cavity is carried out by thoracic surgeons (from Greek. thorax – chest).
Pulmonology has close ties with such branches of medicine as cardiology, allergology, otolaryngology, intensive care and intensive care, oncology, transplantology.
Within the framework of pulmonology, an independent direction is distinguished – phthisiology, the field of study of which is the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. The problem of the prevalence of tuberculosis is one of the most urgent in modern medicine.
Pulmonology deals with the treatment of the following types of pathological processes:
Many respiratory diseases have a severe and prolonged course, leading to serious health consequences, shorten the duration and reduce the quality of life of patients.
Pulmonology has acquired special significance in modern medical science. Bronchial and lung diseases occupy leading positions in modern society, their share in the total morbidity of the population varies from 41% to 53%.
The rapid deterioration of the environmental situation, an increase in the level of injuries accompanied by damage to the chest and chest cavity organs, the growth of oncological diseases of the respiratory system, stress factor, occupational hazards contribute to the steady growth and rejuvenation of lung diseases.
An appeal to a pulmonologist usually occurs when characteristic symptoms of lung diseases appear: dry or wet cough, shortness of breath at rest or during physical exertion, attacks of suffocation, chest pain, increased body temperature. Lung diseases are often accidental findings during X-ray examination.
It is possible to suspect a particular respiratory disease already on the basis of complaints and auscultative picture of the lungs. The necessary diagnostic studies to clarify the nature of lung pathology are chest radiography, data on the function of external respiration, bronchoscopy, bronchography, computed tomography of the lungs, angiopulmonography. Of the laboratory methods for diagnosing lung diseases, the study of sputum for cytology, microbial flora, and atypical cells is of the greatest importance.
Treatment of lung diseases, depending on their nature, can be both conservative and surgical. Conservative measures in the treatment of lung and bronchial diseases are aimed at diluting sputum, reducing its amount and facilitating evacuation from the bronchial tree, bronchial dilatation, relieving bronchial muscle spasm, removing the inflammatory process in the bronchopulmonary system, normalizing gas exchange in the lung tissue.
Surgical treatment of diseases of the lungs and other organs of the thoracic cavity in many cases is an emergency measure to eliminate dangerous, life-threatening conditions. Planned surgical treatment of lung diseases is carried out after a detailed examination and the impossibility of conservative treatment of the disease.
The simplest and most effective measures for the prevention of lung diseases are quitting smoking and undergoing an examination by a pulmonologist once a year.
The Medical Directory of Diseases on the website “Medic Journal” presents respiratory diseases in more detail.
Pulmonary mucormycosis is a severe fungal disease that occurs mainly in immunocompromised individuals and is characterized by the development of vascular thrombosis and necrosis of the lung tissue. The main symptoms of the disease are nonspecific: they include fever, shortness of breath, cough and hemoptysis. The diagnosis is established on the basis of radiological or…
Closed pneumothorax is a partial or complete collapse of the lung caused by air entering the pleural cavity; at the same time, the pleural cavity does not communicate with the external environment, and the amount of gas during breathing does not increase. It is manifested by chest pain on the side of the lesion, a…
Respiratory failure is a pathological syndrome accompanying a number of diseases, which is based on a violation of gas exchange in the lungs. The clinical picture is based on signs of hypoxemia and hypercapnia (cyanosis, tachycardia, sleep and memory disorders), respiratory muscle fatigue syndrome and shortness of breath. RF is diagnosed on the basis of…
Lobar pneumonia is an acute infectious and allergic inflammation that engulfs one or more lobes of the lung and pleura. Lobar pneumonia is manifested by chills, fever, headache and pleural pain, general weakness, sweating, shortness of breath, wet cough. The diagnosis of lobar pneumonia is made based on anamnesis, auscultation, lung radiography data, clinical blood…
Tracheal diverticulum is a defect of the tracheal wall in the form of protrusion, which has a message with the lumen of the organ. This pathology may be asymptomatic or manifest as cough with sputum, shortness of breath, hoarseness of voice, dysphagia. Diverticula are diagnosed using videotracheobronchoscopy, radiography, multispiral CT. Conservative and surgical methods are…
Fungal pneumonia is a mycotic lesion of the lungs, the causative agents of which are various types of fungi. The disease is manifested by fever, weakness, cough with mucopurulent sputum and hemoptysis, shortness of breath, chest pain, myalgia. The diagnosis of fungal pneumonia is made according to anamnesis, symptoms, lung radiography, microbiological, serological and molecular…
Hypercapnia is an increase in the carbon dioxide content in arterial blood of more than 45 mm Hg. The condition most often develops with a decrease in lung ventilation against the background of COPD and exacerbation of bronchial asthma. The cause of the syndrome is also neuromuscular pathologies, rib injuries, critical conditions. Hypercapnia is manifested…
Hydrothorax is a pleural effusion syndrome caused by the accumulation of fluid of non–inflammatory origin (transudate). It is accompanied by heaviness in the chest, shortness of breath, cyanotic skin tone, decreased exercise tolerance. Possible combination with hydropericardium, ascites. Hydrothorax is diagnosed according to echography of pleural cavities, lung X-ray, diagnostic puncture. Treatment involves evacuation of…
Hemothorax is bleeding into the pleural cavity, accumulation of blood between its leaves, leading to compression of the lung and displacement of the mediastinal organs in the opposite direction. With hemothorax, there is chest pain, difficulty breathing, signs of acute blood loss develop (dizziness, pallor of the skin, tachycardia, hypotension, cold sticky sweat, fainting). Diagnosis…
Idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis is a lung lesion caused by the massive influx of red blood cells into the lung tissue with the deposition of the iron–containing pigment hemosiderin in it. The course of the disease is accompanied by crises, during which cough, hemoptysis, shortness of breath, fever, tachycardia, respiratory failure, pulmonary bleeding and anemia occur.…
