Module 8 - Diseases of the Lung

Question 1

abscess

Answer 1

a localized collection of pus (i.e. an area of liquefactive necrosis in lung tissue).

Question 2

acinus (acini)

Answer 2

in the lung the basic unit where gas exchange occurs; it includes respiratory bronchioles and its alveolar ducts and alveolar sacs; an acinus is supplied by a single terminal bronchiole.

Question 3

alveolus (alveoli)

Answer 3

• literally means a small cell or cavity, it is the thin-walled sac-like terminal dilation of the acinus (respiratory bronchiole, alveolar ducts and alveolar sacs) across which gas transfer takes place across the alveolar-capillary membrane.

Question 4

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Answer 4

a nonspecific term that describes conditions in which there is airway obstruction and an increased resistance to airflow (resulting in a decreased forced expiratory volume). Includes bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema

Question 5

cor pulmonale

Answer 5

can be acute or chronic; acute - overload of the right ventricle due to pulmonary hypertension (usually due to pulmonary embolism); chronic - heart disease due to pulmonary hypertension secondary to disease of the lung or its blood vessels (with hypertrophy of the right ventricle).

Question 6

lung carcinoma

Answer 6

Four main subtypes: squamous cell carcinoma (25 - 40%), adenocarcinoma (25 - 40%), small cell undifferentiated carcinoma (20 - 25%), large cell undifferentiated carcinoma (10 - 15%). All are related to cigarette smoking; the leading cause of cancer deaths in Canadian men and women.

Question 7

pleura -

Answer 7

the membrane that covers the lungs and lines the walls of the pleural cavity.

Question 8

pneumonia

Answer 8

inflammation of the lung occurring secondary to infection (via bacteria, virus, etc.). Bacterial pneumonias show two patterns - lobar pneumonia (in which an entire lobe or lung is involved) or bronchopneumonia (infection is patchy throughout lobe or lung). Clinically, pneumonia can be classified according to its etiology, i.e. community-acquired or nosocomial (hospital-acquired). A third clinical type occurs in immunocompromised hosts.

Question 9

respiratory failure

Answer 9

the inability to maintain normal oxygen saturation of the blood and to remove carbon dioxide from the blood entering the lungs.