Respiratory Diseases

Course Summary

Some of the more well-known respiratory diseases include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchitis, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, pneumonia, and lung cancer.  A respiratory disease is a type of disease that affects the lungs and other parts of the respiratory system. These diseases disrupt the way oxygen is transported throughout the body and can lead to many chronic conditions. Respiratory diseases can be inherited or caused by environmental exposures, or behaviors.  Some of these causes would include infections in the lungs, smoking tobacco, or by breathing in secondhand tobacco smoke, exposure to radon, asbestos, or other forms of air pollution. Several of these lung diseases will be covered in this course.