bronchiolitis obliterans
Meaning of bronchiolitis obliterans: Bronchiolitis obliterans is a rare, irreversible lung condition in which scarring narrows or blocks the smallest airways, sometimes following transplant or toxic exposure.
Definition of bronchiolitis obliterans
Bronchiolitis obliterans is a rare and serious lung condition in which the bronchioles, the smallest branching airways within the lungs, become inflamed and progressively narrowed or blocked by scar tissue. This scarring restricts airflow and makes breathing increasingly difficult, and unlike some other forms of lung inflammation, the damage is generally permanent rather than reversible.
Bronchiolitis obliterans can develop after inhaling certain toxic gases, fumes, or particles that irritate the bronchioles, and it is also a recognized complication that can occur after a lung transplant or a stem cell transplant using cells from a donor, where it is thought to result from the recipient's immune system reacting against the transplanted or donor derived tissue.
Because the scarring involved in bronchiolitis obliterans does not resolve on its own, the condition is generally managed by trying to slow further progression and support breathing, rather than by reversing damage that has already occurred.
Used in a sentence
Pulmonary function testing was used to monitor for bronchiolitis obliterans following the patient's stem cell transplant.
Good to know
Bronchiolitis obliterans involves permanent scarring of the small airways, distinguishing it from many other causes of airway inflammation that improve once the underlying trigger resolves.
Word origin
Where “bronchiolitis obliterans” comes from
Bronchiolitis is formed from Greek bronchos, meaning windpipe, combined with the suffix -itis, meaning inflammation; obliterans derives from Latin obliterare, meaning to blot out or erase.