Diseases related to the lungs, airways, lung membrane, bones (ribs) forming the rib cage and soft tissue in the chest area of our body are evaluated by Chest Diseases specialists. It is necessary to consult a chest diseases specialist in the presence of complaints such as cough, expectoration, shortness of breath, side pain, and spitting up blood.
Breast diseases are not within the scope of this field of expertise. For breast disorders, you need to be examined by an Endocrinologist or General Surgery specialist.
Heart diseases should also be examined and followed by a Cardiologist.
WHAT IS THE STRUCTURE OF THE LUNGS? WHAT DO THE LUNGS DO?
The part of our body between the neck and abdomen is called the "rib cage". The reason why this place is called a cage is because it is surrounded by ribs on the right and left, just like a cage. There are two lungs in the rib cage, one on the right and one on the left. The breath taken through the nose or mouth passes through the vocal cords after the larynx and reaches the windpipe. The trachea divides into two in the middle part of our lungs and forms the main bronchi that allow air to enter both lungs. The bronchi branch many times within the lung, like the branches of a tree, and end in air sacs. Lung tissue consists of these air sacs. The air we breathe meets the dirty blood in the air sacs we call alveoli and cleans the blood by delivering the oxygen it contains to the blood and removing carbon dioxide from the blood. Blood cleansed with oxygen is distributed throughout the body by the circulatory system and meets the oxygen needs of our cells. Life is not possible without oxygen. Therefore, our lungs are one of our basic vital organs.
DEFINITIONS
Acute:Used to describe rapid onset or short-term diseases. “Rapid onset” usually refers to a few hours, and “short duration” refers to a few days.
Chronic:It refers to the word “chronic” of Arabic origin. Its dictionary meaning in Turkish is “Süreğen”. It is used in Medical Science for long-term illness or symptoms.
Attack:The symptom of a chronic disease. These are conditions that are characterized by the aggravation of disease-related complaints and symptoms during treatment, usually last 7-10 days, require changes in treatment, and may be serious enough to put the patient in bed or require admission to hospital or even intensive care.
EXAMPLE:A cough that continues for several days may be a symptom of an acute illness. However, a cough that continues for more than 3 weeks is defined as “chronic cough”.
MAIN DISEASES IN OUR AREA OF EXPERTISE
COPD
Asthma
Acute and chronic bronchitis
Bronchiectasis
Lung cancer
Pulmonary tuberculosis
Pneumonia
Pulmonary embolism
Sarcoidosis
….
CHEST DISEASES EMERGENCIES
In case of any sudden and severe chest pain and shortness of breath, you should definitely go to the nearest emergency room or call 112 Emergency Service.
Asthma and COPD attacks, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, foreign body aspirations, and intense bleeding caused by coughing can create emergencies in chest diseases.
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