| lung | <anatomy> An organ for aerial respiration; commonly in the plural. "My lungs began to crow like chanticleer." (Shak) In all air-breathing vertebrates the lungs are developed from the ventral wall of the oesophagus as a pouch which divides into two sacs. In amphibians and many reptiles the lungs retain very nearly this primitive saclike character, but in the higher forms the connection with the oesophagus becomes elongated into the windpipe and the inner walls of the sacs become more and more divided, until, in the mammals, the air spaces become minutely divided into tubes ending in small air cells, in the walls of which the blood circulates in a fine network of capillaries. In mammals the lungs are more or less divided into lobes, and each lung occupies a separate cavity in the thorax. See Respiration. <medicine> Lung fever, pneumonia. <botany> Lung flower, one of the breathing organs of spiders and snails. Origin: OE. Lunge, AS. Lunge, pl. Lungen; akin to D. Long, G. Lunge, Icel. & Sw. Lunga, Dan. Lunge, all prob. From the root of E. Light. See Light not heavy. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| lung abscess | A collection of pus within a cavity in the lung due to a bacterial infection (bacterial endocarditis). Certain bacteria (Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Tuberculosis, Klebsiella) are more likely to cavitate the lung and cause abscess formation. (27 Sep 1997) |
| lung bud | The endodermal lung primordium which will give rise to the epithelial lining of the respiratory tract. Synonym: lung bud. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lung cancer | A cancerous growth in lung tissue. Lung cancer may be metastatic from another source (colon) or may be primary (tumour is of lung cell origin). Classification is based on the type of cell the lung cancer originates from (adenocarcinoma, alveolar cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, large cell and small cell carcinomas). (27 Sep 1997) |
| lung compliance | The pulmonary volume change per unit pressure change. While clearly not a complete description of the pressure-volume properties of the lung, it is nevertheless useful in practice as a measure of the comparative stiffness of the lung. The stiffer the lung, the less the compliance. Compliance is reduced by diseases which cause an accumulation of fibrous tissue in the lung or by oedema in the alveolar spaces. It is increased in pulmonary emphysema and also with age, probably because of alterations in the elastic tissue in both cases. (12 Dec 1998) |
| lung diseases, interstitial | A heterogeneous group of noninfectious, nonmalignant disorders of the lower respiratory tract, affecting primarily the alveolar wall structures but also often involving the small airways and blood vessels of the lung parenchyma. "interstitial" refers to the fact that the interstitium of the alveolar walls is thickened, usually by fibrosis. This group of diseases is usually inflammatory. (12 Dec 1998) |
| lung diseases, obstructive | Any disorder marked by persistent obstruction of bronchial air flow. (12 Dec 1998) |
| lung diseases, parasitic | Infections of the lungs with a parasite. They are caused most commonly by nematodes (roundworms). (12 Dec 1998) |
| lung fluke disease | Infection with the lung fluke, Clonorchis sinensis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lung foreign body | Any object or material that does not belong in the respiratory tree. Lung foreign bodies most often result from the accidental aspiration of an object or food particle. (27 Sep 1997) |
| lung: gallium imaging | <radiology> Scans at 48 hrs because 50% of normals show activity at 24 hrs, focal uptake, primary pulmonary malignancy, benign disorder: granuloma, abscess, pneumonia, silicosis, multifocal/diffuse uptake, infection, TB: active lesion, miliary TB, rapidly progressive TB pneumonia, PCP: unimpressive symptoms and CXR, CMV, inflammation: sarcoid, interstitial lung disease (pneumoconiosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, lymphangitic carcinomatosis), radiation pneumonitis, drugs: bleomycin, amiodarone, contrast lymphangiography (in 50%) see: gallium: indications, uptake with normal chest film (12 Dec 1998) |
| lung-grown | <medicine> Having lungs that adhere to the pleura. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| lung, hyperlucent | Hyperlucency of one lung with decreased size and vascularity of the lung. It is often associated with bronchiolitis obliterans and with adenovirus infection in childhood. (12 Dec 1998) |
| lung perfusion agents | <radiology> Tc-99m MAA (macro-aggregated albumin), Tc-99m HAM (human albumin microspheres), dose 4 mCi, particles, size 10 - 90 m, number 200,000 - 400,000, effect 1 : 1000 arterioles embolised (12 Dec 1998) |
| lung segmental anatomy | <radiology> Right lung, 3 lobes, 10 segments, left lung, 2 lobes, 8 segments (12 Dec 1998) |