Bronchitis Health Article

BOOKS

Shayevits, Myra, Berton Shayevits, and the editors of Consumer Reports Books. Living Well with Chronic Asthma, Bronchitis, and Emphysema. Consumer Report Books, 1991.

PERIODICALS

Tiep, Brian L. "Disease Management of COPD with Pulmonary Rehabilitation." Chest 112, no. 6 (Dec. 1997): 1630-1657.

ORGANIZATIONS

American Lung Association. 1740 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. (800) 586-4872. <http://www.lungusa.org>.

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. P.O. Box 30105, Bethesda, MD 20824-0105. (301) 251-1222. <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov>.

National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine. 1400 Jackson St., Denver, CO 80206. (800) 222-5864. <http://www.nationaljewish.org/main.html>.

Tish Davidson

KEY TERMS

Acute—Disease or condition characterized by the rapid onset of severe symptoms.

Bronchi—The larger air tubes of the lung that bring air in from the trachea.

Chronic—Disease or condition characterized by slow onset over a long period of time.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)— A term used to describe chronic lung diseases, like chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma.

Emphysema—One of the several diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, emphysema involves the destruction of air sac walls to form abnormally large air sacs that have reduced gas exchange ability and that tend to retain air within the lungs. Symptoms include labored breathing, the inability to forcefully blow air out of the lungs, and an increased susceptibility to respiratory tract infections.