Bronchial Disorders

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

• Specifics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

When you breathe in, the air travels down through your trachea (windpipe). It then goes through two tubes to your lungs. These tubes are your bronchi. Bronchial disorders can make it hard for you to breathe.

The most common problem with the bronchi is bronchitis, an inflammation of the tubes. It can be acute or chronic. Other problems include

• Bronchiectasis - a condition in which damage to the airways causes them to widen and become flabby and scarred
• Exercise-induced bronchospasm - a breathing problem that happens when your airways shrink while you are exercising
• Bronchiolitis - an inflammation of the small airways that branch off from the bronchi
• Bronchopulmonary dysplasia - a chronic lung condition in infants, most often premature infants

Start Here

• Bronchiectasis (American Lung Association)
• Bronchiectasis (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Bronchiolitis (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Bronchiolitis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Exercise-Induced Bronchospasm (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• What Is Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bronchoscopy and Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Chest CT Scan (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• Chest X-Ray (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• Lung Function Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• What is Bronchoscopy? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Bronchiolitis Obliterans (National Jewish Health)
• Flavorings-Related Lung Disease (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Bronchial Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Bronchiectasis (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Bronchiolitis (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Parental Perspectives on Continuous Pulse Oximetry Use in Bronchiolitis Hospitalizations.
• Article: Making the Case for Limited Physiologic Monitoring in a Data-Hungry World.
• Article: International Practice Patterns of Antibiotic Therapy and Laboratory Testing in Bronchiolitis.
• Bronchial Disorders -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Bronchi, Bronchial Tree, & Lungs (National Cancer Institute)
• How the Lungs Work (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Find an Expert

• American Lung Association
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Children

• Bronchiolitis (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Treating Bronchiolitis in Infants (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Bronchiectasis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bronchiolitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bronchiolitis - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Postural drainage (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tracheal rupture (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish