Alveolar lung disease

Alveolar lung disease

Alveolar lung disease, also known as airspace disease, is a general term that described edema and exudates in the airspaces of the lung (the acini and alveoli).

Causes

Alveolar lung disease may be divided into acute or chronic. Causes of acute alveolar lung disease include pulmonary edema (cardiogenic or neurogenic), pneumonia (bacterial or viral), pulmonary embolism, systemic lupus erythemosus, pulmonary hemorrhae (e.g., Goodpasture syndrome), idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis, and Wegner granulomatosis.

Chronic alveolar lung disease can be caused by pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, alveolar cell carcinoma, mineral oil pneumonia, sarcoidosis (alveolar form), lymphoma, tuberculosis, metastases, desquamative interstitial pneumonia

Radiographic findings

Alveolar disease is visible on chest radiography as small, ill-defined nodules of homogeneous density centered around the acini or bronchioles. The nodules coalesce early in the course of disease, such that the nodules may only be seen as soft fluffy edges in the periphery.

When the nodules are centered around the hilar regions, the chest x-ray may develop what is called the "butterfly," or "batwing" appearance. The nodules may also have a segmental or lobar distribution. Air alveolograms and air bronchograms can also be seen.

These findings appear soon after the onset of symptoms and change rapidly thereafter.

A segmental or lobar pattern may be apparent after aspiration pneumonia, atelectasis, lung contusion, localized pulmonary edema, obstructive pneumonia, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism with infarction, or tuberculosis.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Obstructive lung disease — Classification and external resources MeSH D008173 Obstructive lung disease is a category of respiratory disease characterized by airway obstruction. It is generally characterized by inflamed and easily collapsible airways, obstruction to airflow …   Wikipedia

  • Interstitial lung disease — Classification and external resources End stage pulmonary fibrosis of unknown origin, taken from an autopsy in the 1980s. ICD 10 …   Wikipedia

  • Occupational lung disease — Main Article Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Occupational lung diseases are a branch of occupational diseases concerned primarily with work related exposures to harmful substances, be they dusts or gases, and the subsequent pulmonary …   Wikipedia

  • interstitial lung disease — a heterogeneous group of noninfectious, nonmalignant disorders of the lower respiratory tract, affecting primarily the alveolar wall structures but also often involving the small airways and blood vessels of the lung parenchyma; slowly… …   Medical dictionary

  • respiratory bronchiolitis–associated interstitial lung disease — a mild interstitial lung condition seen in cigarette smokers, characterized by patchy inflammation of bronchioles with filling of their lumina as well as adjacent alveoli and alveolar ducts by pigmented macrophages, resulting in dyspnea and a… …   Medical dictionary

  • Lung — For other uses, see Lung (disambiguation). Lunged redirects here. For other uses, see Lunge. The lungs of a pig …   Wikipedia

  • Alveolar capillary dysplasia — Classification and external resources OMIM 265380 Alveolar capillary dysplasia (ACD, also congenital alveolar dysplasia) is a very rare congenital malformation involving abnormal development of the capillary vascular system around the alveoli of… …   Wikipedia

  • lung — One of a pair of viscera occupying the pulmonary cavities of the thorax, the organs of respiration in which aeration of the blood takes place. In humans, the right l. is slightly larger than the left and is divided into three lobes (an upper, a… …   Medical dictionary

  • Alveolar macrophage — Micrograph showing hemosiderin laden alveolar marcophages, as seen in a pulmonary haemorrhage. H E stain. An alveolar macrophage (or dust cell) is a type of macrophage found in the pulmonary alveolus, near the pneumocytes, but separated from the… …   Wikipedia

  • Disease — Illness or sickness often characterized by typical patient problems (symptoms) and physical findings (signs). Disruption sequence: The events that occur when a fetus that is developing normally is subjected to a destructive agent such as the… …   Medical dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”