What is Coccidioidomycosis? Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection mainly isolated to the lung that arises with inhaling the airborne spores of the Coccidioides fungi. It is also known as valley fever and is a common infection among people who live in endemic areas. Coccidioidomycosis is often asymptomatic and when >> Read More ...
Definition Aspiration pneumonia is a condition where foreign material enters the lower airways thereby causing inflammation of the lung. It can result in chemical damage of the lung tissue or a lung infection. The term aspiration pneumonia is usually reserved for a lung infection, mainly bacterial, where the bacteria >> Read More ...
What is Legionnaire’s Disease? Legionnaires’ disease (LD), also known as legionellosis, is a severe form of lung infection producing pneumonia-like symptoms. Legionnaires’ disease is a water-borne disease caused by Legionella pneumophila bacteria. Legionnaires’ disease is contracted by inhaling the >> Read More ...
What is HIV pneumonia? Pneumonia is an infection of the lung that can occur in any person. It is more likely to affect people with weakened immune systems. HIV infection is one of the rapidly growing causes of a weak immune system. Therefore pneumonia in an HIV-positive patients is sometimes termed HIV pneumonia or more >> Read More ...
What is rabbit fever? Rabbit fever, medically known as tularemia, is an infection with the bacteria Francisella tularensis. This infection mainly occurs in rodents, such as rabbits, squirrels and hares, hence the term ‘rabbit fever’. However, it can also affect fish, reptiles and humans. It is an acute >> Read More ...
Pneumonitis is the term for inflammation of the lungs, involving the respiratory and often the terminal bronchioles as well. This may arise as a result of trauma (chemical/physical), allergic reactions, airborne particles and drugs. It is often confused with pneumonia – pneumonitis is a broad term that includes lung >> Read More ...
What is lung consolidation? Consolidation of the lung is simply a “solidification” of the lung tissue due to accumulation of solid and liquid material in the air spaces that would have normally been filled by gas. It is also known as pulmonary consolidation. The most common cause of consolidation is pneumonia >> Read More ...
An infection of the lung may be due to a number of bacterial and viral causes, with fungal infections being less common and more frequently seen in immunocompromised patients. Lungs infections may be acute, lasting less than 3 weeks or chronic, persisting for more than 3 weeks. Most lung infections start as a respiratory >> Read More ...
What is Pneumonia? Pneumonia is any disease that causes inflammation of the lung tissue, particularly the air sacs (alveoli) of the lung. It is a fairly common respiratory disease that can be life threatening. Most cases of pneumonia are due to infectious causes, with bacterial pneumonia being the most common, followed by >> Read More ...
Infections of the vertebral column are quite rare considering their tough structure. Direct infections are not known to occur, but transfer of infections from the chest or other adjoining structures is common. The presence of infection in the body increases the stress on the body and also weakens the defenses of the body. >> Read More ...
