Lung Diseases

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Health Check Tools
• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Women
• Seniors
• Patient Handouts

Summary

When you breathe, your lungs take in oxygen from the air and deliver it to the bloodstream. The cells in your body need oxygen to work and grow. During a normal day, you breathe nearly 25,000 times. People with lung disease have difficulty breathing. Millions of people in the U.S. have lung disease. If all types of lung disease are lumped together, it is the number three killer in the United States.

The term lung disease refers to many disorders affecting the lungs, such as asthma, COPD, infections like influenza, pneumonia and tuberculosis, lung cancer, and many other breathing problems. Some lung diseases can lead to respiratory failure.

Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health

Start Here

• Lung Disease (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
• Lungs and Respiratory System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Chest MRI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Chest X-Ray (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• Needle Biopsy of the Lung (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Pulmonary Function Tests (American Thoracic Society) - PDF
• Pulmonary Function Tests (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• Spirometry (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Warning Signs of Lung Disease (American Lung Association)
• What is Bronchoscopy? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• What Is Thoracentesis? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Coping with Indoor Air Pollution (American Association for Respiratory Care)
• Protect Yourself: Respirators (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) - PDF
• Protecting Your Lungs (American Lung Association)

Treatments and Therapies

• Chest tube insertion - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Chest Tube Thoracostomy (American Thoracic Society) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Long-Term Control Medications for Lung Diseases (National Jewish Health)
• Pulmonary lobectomy - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Quick-Relief Medications for Lung Diseases (National Jewish Health)

Living With

• Breathing and Relaxation (National Jewish Health)
• Oxygen Therapy: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Pulmonary Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Pulse Oximetry (American Thoracic Society) - PDF
• Understanding Exercise, Diet and Lung Disease (National Jewish Health) - PDF
• What Is a Ventilator? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Related Issues

• Lung Disease Including Asthma and Adult Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Mold Allergy: Proper Humidifier Care (National Jewish Health)
• Particle Pollution (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Smoking Marijuana and the Lungs (American Thoracic Society) - PDF

Specifics

• Adenoviruses (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Coughing up Blood (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Goodpasture Syndrome (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
• Histoplasmosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Hyperinflated Lungs: What Does It Mean? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Lung Nodules: Overview (National Jewish Health)
• Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Pulmonary Edema (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Genetics Home Reference: autosomal dominant hyper-IgE syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: autosomal recessive hyper-IgE syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: lymphangioleiomyomatosis (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: primary ciliary dyskinesia (National Library of Medicine)

Health Check Tools

• How Well Do You Know Your Inhaler? (American Association for Respiratory Care)

Videos and Tutorials

• Breathing (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Gas exchange (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Your Lung Operation: After Your Operation (American College of Surgeons)

Statistics and Research

• Lung Diseases (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Meditation or Exercise May Help Acute Respiratory Infections (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Lung Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult (National Institutes of Health)

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

• Article: Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
• Article: Comparison of incidence and cost of influenza between healthy and...
• Article: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment.
• Lung Diseases -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• How the Lungs Work (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Find an Expert

• American Lung Association
• Lung HelpLine and Tobacco QuitLine (American Lung Association)
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Children

• Adenovirus (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Lung Health for Your Little Ones (American Association for Respiratory Care)
• Meconium Aspiration (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Pulmonary Function Testing in Children (American Thoracic Society) - PDF
• Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn (TTN) (Nemours Foundation)
• Your Lungs and Respiratory System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Lungs and Respiratory System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Women

• LAM (Lymphangioleiomyomatosis) (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Seniors

• Understanding Lung Problems (National Institute on Aging) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Alveolar abnormalities (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Blood gases (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Breath sounds (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Chemical pneumonitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Chest tube insertion (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Coughing up blood (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Lung disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Lung PET scan (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pulmonary edema (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pulmonary function tests (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Solitary pulmonary nodule (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish