Lung disease is any disease or disorder where lung function is impaired. There are three major physiologic categories of lung diseases:
- Obstructive lung disease -- a decrease in the exhaled air flow caused by a narrowing or blockage of the airways, such as with asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
- Restrictive lung disease -- a decrease in the total volume of air that the lungs are able to hold. Often, this is due to a decrease in the elasticity of the lungs themselves or caused by a problem related to the expansion of the chest wall during inhalation.
- A defect in the ability of the lung's air sac tissue to move oxygen into a person's blood.
Most lung diseases actually involve a combination of these categories, such as emphysema, which involves both airflow obstruction and oxygenation problems.
Major lung diseases include:
Other lung diseases include:
This list is not complete. There are other lung diseases and disorders.
