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.
McLeod syndrome is a chronic pathology with progressive hypoplasia and a decrease in the density of one lung or its lobe, reduction of arterioles, obliteration of small bronchi and bullous alveolar change. The course of McLeod syndrome is accompanied by increasing expiratory dyspnea, persistent cough with intermittent scanty sputum, diffuse chest pain, chest asymmetry, respiratory…
Caplan syndrome is a pathology characterized by the development of primary chronic arthritis against the background of progressive pneumoconiosis. The clinical picture consists of symptoms of general intoxication, shortness of breath, dry cough and joint damage resembling rheumatoid arthritis (symmetrical aching pains, morning stiffness). The diagnosis is established on the basis of professional anamnesis, detection…
Williams-Campbell syndrome is a rare congenital pathology of the respiratory system caused by underdevelopment of bronchial cartilage from 2 to 8 generations, characterized by a lack of tone of their walls, dyskinesia and impaired drainage function. It is manifested by frequent recurrent inflammatory and suppurative processes of the lungs, bronchial obstruction. It is diagnosed using…
Silicosis is a occupational disease characterized by the development of severe pneumofibrosis due to prolonged inhalation of dust with a high content of free silicon dioxide. The symptoms are progressive: shortness of breath first occurs during exercise, then at rest, periodic coughing is replaced by a constant cough, chest pain increases, in the later stages,…
Cardiopulmonary insufficiency is a decompensated stage of the pulmonary heart, occurring with acute or chronic right ventricular heart failure. It is characterized by shortness of breath, tachycardia, pain in the heart, peripheral edema, hepatomegaly, cyanotic staining of the skin, swelling of the neck veins. Instrumental diagnostics is based on the evaluation of radiological, electrocardiographic and…
Pulmonary sequestration is a defect in the formation of the lungs, which consists in the separation from the main organ of a rudimentary section of lung tissue with autonomous blood flow that does not participate in the gas exchange process. Symptoms may be meager; with an exacerbation of infectious inflammation, it includes fever, weakness, shortness of…
Segmental pneumonia is an inflammation of the morphofunctional unit of the lung lobe – the bronchopulmonary segment. The disease occurs more often in children. Segmental pneumonia is characterized by an acute onset, high fever, severe intoxication, staccato cough, chest or abdominal pain. It can take a prolonged course, lead to the formation of pneumosclerosis and…
Lung sarcoma is an extremely aggressive malignant tumor that develops from immature connective tissue elements of the lung. The symptoms of lung sarcoma are similar to the manifestations of lung cancer, but differ in more rapid progression. Subjective symptoms may include shortness of breath, cough, swallowing disorders, fever, severe fatigue, sweating. The syndrome of the…
Pulmonary sarcoidosis is a disease belonging to the group of benign systemic granulomatoses, occurring with damage to the mesenchymal and lymphatic tissues of various organs, but mainly the respiratory system. Patients with sarcoidosis are concerned about increased weakness and fatigue, fever, chest pain, cough, arthralgia, skin lesions. In the diagnosis of sarcoidosis, chest x-ray and…
Recurrent bronchitis is a recurrent, prolonged inflammation of the bronchial mucosa that repeats up to 3 or more times throughout the year, but does not lead to irreversible violations of the function of the respiratory organs. Recurrent bronchitis is accompanied by subfebrility, wet, rough cough, sometimes bronchospasm and wheezing. The diagnosis is made according to…
