Lung disorders are one of the most common medical problems worldwide. Lung disease affects millions of people in the United States alone. Most lung disorders are caused by smoking, infections, and genes.

Your lungs are a complex system that expands and contracts hundreds of times daily to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. Lung disease develops when any part of the respiratory system is compromised.

Lung diseases affecting the airways

Your trachea (bronchus) divides into the trachea, which turns into small tubes that go to your lungs. These airways are affected by various diseases, including:

Asthma. Your airways may always be swollen and constricted, resulting in snoring and shortness of breath. Asthma symptoms can be triggered by allergies, infections, or pollutants.

COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). If you have this lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe, you will not be able to breathe normally.

Bronchitis has been around for a long time. This type of COPD causes persistent whooping cough.

Emphysema. In this type of COPD, the air gets trapped in your lungs due to lung damage. Its defining feature is **** air exhaust.

Acute bronchitis is a condition in which the lungs become inflamed.

The virus is usually the cause of this severe inflammation of your airways.

Cystic fibrosis is a disease that affects the lungs. If you have this disease, you may have difficulty draining mucus from your airways. This can lead to recurrent infections in the lungs.

Diseases of the air sacs in the lungs (alveoli)

Your airways split into small tubes (bronchioles) that lead to the alveoli, which are groups of air sacs. Most of the tissue in your lungs is made up of these air sacs. The following are examples of lung disorders that can damage your alveoli:

Pneumonia. Bacterial or viral infections of your alveoli, such as the coronavirus, can cause COVID-19.

Tuberculosis pneumonia is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Emphysema. This happens when the weak connections between the alveoli are broken. The most common cause is smoking. (Emphysema also affects your airways by restricting airflow.)

Inflammation of the lungs. The fluid travels through the small blood vessels of your lungs into the air sacs and surrounding area. One type of circulatory failure is caused by heart failure and pulmonary backpressure.

Lung cancer. It can take many forms and can start in any area of your lungs. It usually occurs in or around the air sacs in a large part of your lungs.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a condition that occurs in the body (ARDS). Significant, unexpected damage to the lungs as a result of a major illness. An example is COVID-19. Most people with ARDS need ventilator support to help them breathe until their lungs have healed.

Pneumoconiosis. This is a group of diseases caused by inhaling anything that can harm your lungs. Two examples are black lung disease caused by coal dust and asbestosis caused by asbestos dust.

Diseases of the interstitium in the lungs

The thin, delicate layer between your alveoli is called the interstitium. Gas is transferred between the alveoli and your blood through the small blood vessels that travel through the interstitium. The interstitium is affected by a variety of lung diseases:

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a type of lung disease (ILD). Sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and autoimmune disease are all part of this category of lung diseases.

The interstitium is affected by pneumonia and pulmonary edema.

Diseases of the blood vessels in the lungs

Your veins carry low-oxygen blood to the right side of your heart. It uses the pulmonary arteries to supply blood to your lungs. Diseases also affect these blood vessels.

Pulmonary embolism (PE). The blood clot breaks down and goes to your heart and is pushed into your lungs (this is called deep vein thrombosis). Shortness of breath and decreased oxygen levels in the blood are common when a clot forms in the pulmonary artery.

Pulmonary hypertension. High blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries can occur for a variety of reasons. It causes chest discomfort and shortness of breath. If your doctor cannot diagnose the cause of your pulmonary artery hypertension, they can diagnose it as idiopathic pulmonary artery hypertension.

Pleural-affected lung disease

The pleura is a thin layer that surrounds the inside of your chest wall and surrounds your lungs. With each breath, a thin layer of fluid allows the pleura on the surface of your lungs to slide into the chest wall.

Pleural effusion is a type of pleural effusion that occurs when the area between your lungs and the chest wall is filled with fluid. The most common causes of pneumonia or heart failure. Large pleural effusions make breathing difficult and may require drainage.

Pneumothorax. Air can enter the area between your chest wall and your lungs and compress it.

Mesothelioma. Pleural carcinoma is rare cancer that develops on the pleura. Mesothelioma is a cancer that develops decades after asbestos exposure.