Term
|
Definition |
Cause
|
Effect (Symptoms)
|
Asthma |
Bronchial Asthma is the condition of
subjects with widespread narrowing of the bronchial
airways, which
changes in severity over short periods of time (either
spontaneously or under treatment) and leads to cough,
wheezing, and difficulty in breathing. |
May be precipitated by exposure to one
or more of a wide range of stimuli, including allergens,
drugs (such as aspirin and other NSAIDs and beta blockers),
exertion, emotion, infections, and air pollution.The
onset of asthma is usually early in life and in atopic
subjects may be accompanied by other manifestations of
hypersensitivity, such as hay-fever and dermatitis; however
the onset may be delayed into adulthood or even middle
or old age. |
Treatment: is with bronchodilators,
with or without corticosteroids, usually administered
via
aerosol or dyr-powder inhalers, or – if the
condition is more severe – via a nebulizer. Oral
corticosteroids are reserved for patients who fail
to respond adequately
to these measures. Severe asthmatic attacks may need
large doses of corticosteroids.Avoidance of known allergens,
especially the house dust mite, allergens arising from
domestic pets, and food additives, will help to reduce
the frequency of attacks, as will the discouragement
of smoking. |
| |
Cardiac Asthma occurs
in left ventricular heart failure and must be distinguished
from bronchial
asthma, as the treatment is quite different. |
|
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|
Bronchitis
|
Acute Bronchitis:
|
Is caused by viruses or bacteria.
|
 |
Coughing
|
|
The production of mucpurulent sputum.
|
|
Narrowing of the bronchi due to spasmodic
contraction.
|
|
| |
Chronic Bronchitis:
Is not primarily an inflammatory condition, although it is frequently complicated
by acute infections.
|
The disease is particularly prevalent in Britain
in association with cigarette smoking, air pollution,
and emphysema.
|
|
The patient coughs up excessive
mucus secreted by enlarged bronchial mucus glands.
|
|
The bronchospasm cannot always be relieved
by bronchodilator drugs.
|
|
|
Emphysema
|
Pulmonary emphysema:
The air sacs (alveoli)
of the lungs are enlarged and damaged, which reduces
the surface area for the exchange of oxygen and carbon
dioxide. |
Normal lung tissue contains: |
|
Over-expansion of aveloar sacs leads
to: |
|
Loss of elasticity |
|
Loss of surface area |
|
Loss of lung capacity |
|
Insufficient take-up of oxygen |
It is particularly common in men
in Britain and is associated with chronic bronchitis,
smoking, and advancing age. |
|
Severe emphysema causes breathlessness/severe
breathing difficulty, which is made worse by infections. |
| |
Surgical emphysema: |
Air may escape into the tissues of the
chest and neck from leaks in the lungs and oesophagus;
occasionally air escapes into other tissues during
surgery, and bacteria may form gas in soft tissues.
The presence of gas or air gives the affected tissues
a characteristic crackling feeling to the touch, and
it may be visible on X-rays. It is easily absorbed
once the leak or production is stopped. |
The presence of gas or air gives the
affected tissues a characteristic crackling feeling
to the touch. |
Hay Fever |
A form of allergy due to the pollen
of grasses, trees, and other plants, characterized
by inflammation of the lining of the nose and sometimes
of the conjunctiva. |
Pollens of grasses, trees, and other
plants. |
The symptoms of sneezing, running or
blocked nose, and watering eyes are due to histamine
release and often respond to treatment with antihistamines.If
the allergen is identified it may be possible to undertake
desensitization. |
|
Pleurisy
|
Inflammation of the pleura. |
Often due to pneumonia in the underlying
lung. The normally shiny and slippery pleural surfaces
lose their sheen and become slightly sticky, so that
there is pain on deep breathing.
Pleurisy is always
associated with some other disease in the lung, chest
wall, diaphragm, or abdomen. |
|
Pain on deep breathing. |
|
A characteristic ‘rub’ can
be heard through a stethoscope.
|
|
|
Pneumonia
|
Inflammation of the lung caused by bacteria,
in which the air sacs (alveoli) become filled with
inflammatory cells and the lung becomes solid. |
Bacteria |
|
Pneumonias may be classified in
different ways: |
|
According to X-ray appearance, |
|
According to the infecting organism, |
|
According to the clinical environmental circumstances
under which the infection is acquired (e.g. ‘community-acquired
pneumonia’, ‘hospital-acquired (nosocomial)
pneumonia’). |
|
Symptoms include those of any infection: |
|
Fever, Malaise, Headaches etc., together
with |
|
Cough and chest pain. |
| |
Treatment:
Appropriate antibiotic therapy,
based on the clinical situation and on microbiological
studies, results in complete recovery in the majority
of patients. |
|
Rhinitis |
Inflammation of the mucous membrane
of the nose. |
It may be caused by: |
|
Virus infection (acute rhinitis), |
|
An allergic reaction (allergic rhinitis). |
|
In atrophic rhinitis the mucous membrane
becomes thinned and fragile.
In perennial (or vasomotor)
rhinitis there is overgrowth of, and increased secretion
by, the membrane. |
|
Tuberculosis
|
An infectious disease caused by the
bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis and characterized
by the formation of nodular lesions (tubercles) in
the tissues. |
Bacillus inhaled into the lungs:
In pulmonary
tuberculosis – formerly known as consumption and pthisis (wasting – the
bacillus is inhaled into the lungs where it sets up
a primary tubercle
and spreads to the nearest lymph nodes (the primary
complex). Natural immune defences may heal it at this
stage; alternatively the disease may smoulder for months
or years and fluctuate with the patient’s resistance.
Many people become infected but show no symptoms. Others
develop a chronic infection and can transmit the bacillus
by coughing and sneezing.
Bacillus entering by mouth
(usually in infected cow’s milk):
Set up a primary
complex in the abdominal lymph nodes, leading to peritonitis,
and sometimes spread to other organs, joints, and bones.
|
Symptoms of the active disease include
fever, night sweats, weight loss, and the spitting
of blood. In some cases the bacilli spread from the
lungs to the bloodstream, setting up millions of tiny
tubercles throughout the body (military tuberculosis),
or migrate to the meninges to cause tuberculous meningitis.
Treatment:Tuberculosis
is curable by various combinations of antibiotics.
Preventative measures in the UK include the detection
of cases by X-ray screening of vunerable populations
and inoculation with BCG vaccine of those with no
immunity to the disease. |
