Lung and Breathing Terms

A thin, tube-like instrument used to examine the tissues and lymph nodes in the area between the lungs.

A short operation through a small cut above the breastbone, giving direct access to the lymph nodes lying around the windpipe.

Nothing in this compartment has room to expand, so a mass here tends to declare itself by pressing on whatever lies beside it.

A form of exercise that combines body movement with mental focus and controlled breathing to improve strength, balance, flexibility, and overall health.

A test that measures the strength of the muscles used in breathing.

The sum of the atomic masses of all atoms in a molecule, based on a scale in which the atomic masses of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are 1, 12, 14, and 16, respectively.

Taken regularly to prevent symptoms rather than to relieve an attack, montelukast also carries a prominent warning about mood and behavior changes.

Mucosa is the moist membrane lining internal passages and cavities such as the mouth, gut, and airways, often producing protective mucus.

The moist, inner lining of some organs and body cavities (such as the nose, mouth, lungs, and stomach).

Despite a name suggesting fungal origin, mycosis fungoides is the most common form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a cancer of white blood cells.

A substance that is being studied as an anticancer drug in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

A group of lung cancers that are named for the kinds of cells found in the cancer and how the cells look under a microscope.

Lymphoma in which the lymph nodes containing cancer are not next to each other, but are on the same side of the diaphragm (the thin muscle below the lungs that helps breathing and separates the…

A substance being studied in the treatment of diarrhea caused by infection with Clostridium difficile (a type of bacteria that can grow without oxygen) in cancer patients.

A drug used to treat certain types of non-small cell lung cancer.

Oxidation is a chemical reaction in which atoms or molecules lose electrons, a process linked in the body to both essential metabolism and cellular damage.

A chemical process in which oxygen is used to make energy from carbohydrates (sugars).

An oxide is any compound formed when oxygen chemically combines with another element, a category spanning substances as different as water, rust, and certain plant oils.

To oxidize is to react chemically with oxygen or a similar substance, a process linked in the body to both energy production and cell damage.

Carrying it is one job and delivering it is another, which is why a normal saturation reading can sit above starving tissue.