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.
Radiation pneumonitis is damage to the lung tissue that develops under the influence of high doses of ionizing radiation. It is manifested by shortness of breath, dry or productive cough, pleural pains, accompanied by an increase in body temperature. The diagnosis is made on the basis of anamnestic data and clinical symptoms, confirmed by the…
Pneumocystis pneumonia is a severe form of interstitial pulmonary inflammation caused by pneumocysts and developing against the background of severe immunodeficiency conditions. The clinical course is characterized by increasing shortness of breath, unproductive cough, febrile fever, chest pain, and the development of cardiopulmonary insufficiency. The diagnosis is made on the basis of radiological signs, the…
Pneumothorax is the accumulation of gas in the pleural cavity, leading to the collapse of lung tissue, displacement of the mediastinum to the healthy side, compression of the mediastinal blood vessels, lowering of the diaphragm dome, which ultimately causes a disorder of respiratory function and blood circulation. With disease, air can penetrate between the leaves of…
Pneumosclerosis is a pathological replacement of connective lung tissue as a consequence of inflammatory or dystrophic processes in the lungs, accompanied by a violation of elasticity and gas exchange in the affected areas. Local changes are asymptomatic, diffuse – accompanied by progressive shortness of breath, cough, chest pain, fatigue. Radiography and computed/multispiral CT of the…
Pneumomediastinum is the presence in the soft tissues of the mediastinum of air or gas coming from the trachea, bronchi, lungs, abdominal cavity, esophagus when they are damaged. It is accompanied by chest pains, shortness of breath, subcutaneous emphysema of the neck, face, chest. A significant amount of air in the mediastinum leads to a…
Pneumoconiosis are a number of chronic lung diseases resulting from prolonged inhalation of industrial dust and characterized by the development of diffuse fibrosis of the lung tissue. The course of pneumoconiosis is accompanied by a dry cough, progressive shortness of breath, chest pain, the development of deforming bronchitis, and an increase in respiratory failure. When…
Pneumococcal pneumonia is an etiological type of bacterial pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (Pneumococcus). The clinic of pneumococcal pneumonia is dominated by feverish intoxication (pronounced weakness, anorexia, febrile fever, chills) and bronchopulmonary (cough with sputum, shortness of breath, pain in the side) syndromes. Diagnosis is facilitated by a comprehensive assessment of physical, radiological, and laboratory…
Squamous cell lung cancer is a histological type of bronchopulmonary cancer resulting from squamous metaplasia of the bronchial epithelium. Clinical manifestations depend on the location of the tumor (central or peripheral lung cancer). The disease can occur with cough, hemoptysis, chest pain, shortness of breath, pneumonia, pleurisy, general weakness, metastasis. Lung cancer is diagnosed according…
Pleurisy – etiologically different inflammatory lesions of the serous membrane surrounding the lungs. Disease is accompanied by chest pains, shortness of breath, cough, weakness, fever, auscultative phenomena (pleural friction noise, weakening of breathing). Diagnosis is carried out using chest X-ray, ultrasound of the pleural cavity, pleural puncture, diagnostic thoracoscopy. Treatment may include conservative therapy (antibiotics, NSAIDs,…
Pyopneumothorax is a pleural disease that develops with the simultaneous entry of pus and air into the pleural fissure from destructive pulmonary foci. Pyopneumothorax is accompanied by sharp chest pain, sudden shortness of breath, cough, apnea, cyanosis, severe hypotension, symptoms of purulent intoxication. The diagnosis of pyopneumothorax is made according to lung radiography, diagnostic pleural…
