Emphysema Glossary of Terms

1. Understanding COPD Slideshow
2. COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Quiz
3. Energy Foods for COPD Slideshow Pictures

Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness th...

Acute bronchitis: inflammation of the breathing tubes within the lungs (bronchial tubes or...

Addiction: An uncontrollable craving, seeking, and use of a substance such as alcohol or a...

Airway: The path that air follows to get into and out of the lungs. The mouth and nose are...

Alveoli: The plural of alveolus. The alveoli are tiny air sacs within the lungs where the ...

Alveolus: A tiny air sac in the lungs. Plural alveoli.

Anatomy: The study of human or animal form, by observation or examination of the living be...

Asthma: A common lung disorder in which inflammation causes the bronchi to swell and narro...

Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms that can exist either as independent (free-living) ...

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through ...

Bronchitis: Inflammation and swelling of the bronchi. Bronchitis can be acute or chronic.

Capillaries: Capillaries are the smallest of blood vessels. They serve to distribute oxyge...

Carbon dioxide: A gas which is the byproduct of cellular metabolism and which collects in ...

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest X-ray: A type of X-ray commonly used to detect abnormalities in the lungs. A chest X...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: COPD. Any disorder that persistently obstructs bron...

Cilia: The fine hairlike projections from certain cells such as those in the respiratory t...

COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Any disorder that persistently obstructs bron...

Cough: A rapid expulsion of air from the lungs, typically in order to clear the lung airwa...

Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. 2. A time withou...

Cyanosis: A bluish color of the skin and the mucous membranes due to insufficient oxygen i...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

Emphysema: 1) A lung condition featuring an abnormal accumulation of air in the lung's ma...

Enzyme: A protein (or protein-based molecule) that speeds up a chemical reaction in a livi...

Enzymes: Proteins that act as a catalysts in mediating and speeding a specific chemical re...

Exacerbation: A worsening. In medicine, exacerbation may refer to an increase in the sever...

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

Flu: Short for influenza. The flu is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract w...

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Genetic disease: A disease caused by an abnormality in an individual's genome.

Genetics: The scientific study of heredity. Genetics pertains to humans and all other orga...

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

Heredity: The genetic transmission of characteristics from parent to child.

Immune: Protected against infection, usually by the presence of antibodies.

Immune system: A complex system that is responsible for distinguishing a person from every...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Infection: The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, an...

Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

Influenza: The flu is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract which are divide...

Intubation: The process of putting a tube into a hollow organ or passageway, often into th...

Lips: Aside from the lips of the mouth, there are two pairs of lips at the entrance to the...

Lung transplant: The first lung transplant was done by the American surgeon James Ha...

Lung volume reduction surgery: See: Lung reduction surgery.

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon...

LVRS: Lung volume reduction surgery. See: Lung reduction surgery.

Metered-dose inhaler: Abbreviated MDI. A device that delivers a measured amount of medicat...

Mucous: Pertaining to mucus, a thick fluid produced by the lining of some tissues of the b...

Mucus: A thick fluid that is produced by the lining of some organs of the body.

Obstruction: Blockage of a passageway. See, for example: Airway obstruction; Intestinal o...

Ounce: A measure of weight equal to 1/16^th of a pound or, metrically, 28.35 gra...

Oxygen: The odorless gas that is present in the air and necessary to maintain life. Oxygen...

Pleural: Pertaining to the pleura, the thin covering that protects the lungs. The term "pl...

Pneumonia: Inflammation of one or both lungs, with dense areas of lung inflammation. Pneum...

Pound: A measure of weight that is equal to 16 ounces or, metrically, 453.6 grams. Abbrevi...

Primary care: A patient's main source for regular medical care, ideally providing continui...

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Progressive: Increasing in scope or severity, advancing, or going forward. For example, a ...

Protease: An enzyme that can split a protein into the peptides from which it was originall...

Proteins: Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific orde...

Pulmonary: Having to do with the lungs.

Quality of life: The patient's ability to enjoy normal life activities. Quality of life is...

Rehabilitation: The process of helping a person who has suffered an illness or injury rest...

Rejection: In transplantation biology, when the body's immune system attacks transplanted ...

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

Risk factor: Something that increases a person's chances of developing a disease. For exam...

Sensitivity: 1. In psychology, the quality of being sensitive. As, for example, sen...

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness ...

Sputum: Mucous material from the lungs that is produced (brought up) by coughing.

Stage: As regards cancer, the extent of a cancer, especially whether the disease has spre...

Steroid: One of a large group of chemical substances classified by a specific carbon struc...

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

Therapeutic: Relating to therapeutics, the branch of medicine that is concerned specifical...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Tongue: A strong muscle that is anchored to the floor of the mouth. The tongue is covered ...

Transplant: The grafting of a tissue from one place to another, just as in botany a bu...

Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be ...

Vaccines: Microbial preparations of killed or modified microorganisms that can stimulate a...

Virus: A microorganism that is smaller than a bacterium that cannot grow or reproduce apar...

Wheezing: A whistling noise in the chest during breathing. Wheezing occurs when the airway...

White blood cell: One of the cells the body makes to help fight infections. There are seve...

White blood cell count (leukocyte count): The number of white blood cells (WBCs) in the b...

Windpipe: The trachea, a tube-like portion of the respiratory (breathing) tract that conn...

X-ray: High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-ray is used...