Metabolic and storage lung diseases are a broad group of diseases and syndromes characterized by underlying biochemical or metabolic dysfunctions. Accurate diagnosis is difficult because these diseases are often indolent,…
Etiology, Prevalence, and Epidemiology Pulmonary vasculitis is traditionally characterized by size of vessel involvement as defined by the Chapel Hill nomenclature. Within the small-vessel vasculitides, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis…
Etiology Chronic pulmonary thromboembolism is an uncommon entity resulting from an incomplete resolution of thrombi, leading to complex restructuring processes within pulmonary arteries. Extensive clinical experience from the literature suggests…
Etiology Pulmonary embolism (PE) refers to blood clot(s) within the pulmonary arterial system, usually caused by migration of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) from the lower extremities. Rarely, emboli are from…
Etiology Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), also known as extrinsic allergic alveolitis, is an immune-mediated inflammatory form of diffuse interstitial pulmonary disease caused by inhalation of various antigens that affect susceptible patients….
Sarcoidosis is a systemic inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology that affects multiple organs and is characterized by the formation of noncaseating granulomas. Intrathoracic lymph node and pulmonary parenchymal involvement occurs…
Etiology, Prevalence, and Epidemiology Takayasu arteritis, also known as pulseless disease or Martorell syndrome, is an idiopathic chronic granulomatous arteritis affecting medium and large arteries with a predilection for the…
Etiology Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder of unknown cause with variable clinical manifestations. Genetic factors play a major role in disease susceptibility and expression. The B lymphocyte is…
Eosinophilic diseases of the lung include a heterogeneous group of pulmonary disorders that characteristically feature peripheral or tissue eosinophilia. Patients with these illnesses have a variable clinical presentation and may…
Etiology The pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) involves genetic and environmental factors, hormonal influences, and cell-mediated responses. In SLE, B lymphocytes lose self-tolerance and inappropriately produce autoantibodies. Serologic positivity…
