The pneumonology It is a branch of medicine that is responsible for the study, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of various diseases that affect both the lungs and the tracheobronchial tree. The doctor who practices pulmonology is the pulmonologist.
Main conditions that concern pulmonology
Tracheobronchial tree disorders. The trachea and bronchi are tubes in charge of allowing air to pass between the lungs and the upper airways. These ducts are the seat of disorders that can compromise ventilation and therefore affect the oxygenation of the tissues, these include infections such as tracheitis, acute bronchitis and chronic bronchitis, hypersensitivity phenomena such as bronchial asthma and tumors of these structures.
Pulmonary disorders The lung is a double organ, it has a spongy consistency since its interior is formed by a series of small microscopic sacs whose walls contain a large number of capillaries that come into contact with the air, thus allowing carbon dioxide to pass from blood to the alveolus and oxygen from the alveolus to the blood. The lungs are the seat of various disorders that include infections such as pneumonia, fluid spills in the pleura, which is the membrane that covers the outer part of the lung, pulmonary fibrosis, EBPOC (chronic obstructive bronchopulmonary disease), pulmonary emphysema and lung cancer.
Complementary studies of the specialty
Patients with respiratory disorders often present with symptoms such as cough, sputum, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Faced with these symptoms, the doctor carries out a clinical evaluation focused on observation, palpation, percussion and auscultation of the thorax in search of pathological signs.
Many times it is necessary to complement this evaluation with studies that allow better visualization of the tracheobronchial tree as well as evaluate its functioning, these studies include:
Chest X-ray.
For years this was the study par excellence to complement the pulmonary evaluation, radiological studies allow to identify lesions such as the collection of fluids product of infections, signs of air entrapment that guide the presence of bronchial asthma, changes compatible with pulmonary emphysema and even nodular lesions typical of diseases such as tuberculosis and lung cancer.
Thorax tomography.
Tomography is a more recent diagnostic tool that provides more defined images of soft tissues, thereby achieving a better definition of these structures and the various lesions. It also allows the visualization of structures located at the level of the mediastinum, which is the compartment between both lungs and which can be the seat of pathological ganglia.
Spirometry
Spirometry is a study that allows evaluating lung function, when it is altered it can be manifested by restrictive or obstructive patterns, for this the patient is asked to blow a mouthpiece connected to a computer that records the air flow pattern in a graph that must be interpreted.
Bronchoscopy.
This study consists of the introduction of an optical fiber into the airway to better visualize it, it also allows to carry out sampling for cultures and cytological examinations, as well as to carry out procedures such as biopsies.
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