Disease
Disorders of the respiratory system can be classified into four general areas:
- Obstructive conditions (e.g., emphysema, bronchitis, asthma)
- Restrictive conditions (e.g., fibrosis, sarcoidosis, alveolar damage, pleural effusion)
- Vascular diseases (e.g., pulmonary edema, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hypertension)
- Infectious, environmental and other "diseases" (e.g., pneumonia, tuberculosis, asbestosis, particulate pollutants):
Coughing is of major importance, as it is the body's main method to remove dust, mucus, saliva, and other debris from the lungs. Inability to cough can lead to infection. Deep breathing exercises may help keep finer structures of the lungs clear from particulate matter, etc.
The respiratory tract is constantly exposed to microbes due to the extensive surface area, which is why the respiratory system includes many mechanisms to defend itself and prevent pathogens from entering the body.
Disorders of the respiratory system are usually treated internally by a pulmonologist and Respiratory Therapist.
Read more about this topic: Respiratory System
Famous quotes containing the word disease:
“For somehow this disease inheres in tyranny, never to trust one’s friends.”
—Aeschylus (525–456 B.C.)
“And this disease that was Swann’s love had so multiplied, it was so intimately tied to all of Swann’s habits, to all his acts, to his thoughts, to his health, to his sleep, to his life, even to what he desired for his afterlife, his love was so much a part of him that it could not be extracted from him without destroying him entirely: as is said in surgery, his love was inoperable.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)
“The artistic temperament is a disease that affects amateurs.... Artists of a large and wholesome vitality get rid of their art easily, as they breathe easily or perspire easily. But in artists of less force, the thing becomes a pressure, and produces a definite pain, which is called the artistic temperament.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)