Thoracic Key

Introduction Biopsy procedures play an essential role in the diagnostic evaluation of patients with respiratory diseases. Most of the basic techniques we use today were mainly developed and refined during…

Introduction Hematologic diseases and their specific therapies can adversely affect several aspects of cardiopulmonary function, by reducing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, by impairing pulmonary vascular function and pulmonary…

Introduction Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare neoplastic disease characterized by a genetic association with the neurocutaneous syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), marked female gender predominance, cystic destruction of the lung,…

Introduction Of the approximately 1 million cases of hospitalized pneumonia each year in the United States, around 60,000 will develop frank empyema. A further 25,000 are estimated to develop pleural…

Introduction The pleural space is bounded by two membranes, the visceral pleura covering the lung and the parietal pleura covering the chest wall and diaphragm. Into this space, normal liquid…

Introduction Pulmonary hypertension manifests as an idiopathic form and as a complication of other circulatory conditions related to increases in pulmonary vascular resistance, increases in pulmonary arterial blood flow, and/or…

Introduction Rare lung tumors are defined as lung tumors with low prevalence and unusual histology. Overall, these tumors account for less than 1% of all primary lung tumors, whereas they…

Introduction Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable premature morbidity and mortality in the United States and in many countries around the world. An average of 443,000 people in…

Introduction Dyspnea (Greek dys, meaning “painful,” “difficult,” and pneuma, meaning “breath”) is a clinical term for the sensation of breathlessness or shortness of breath experienced by both normal subjects and…

Introduction Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related death in the Western world. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality for both men and women in…