Emphysema Center - Billerica, MA
Billerica Pulmonologist Doctors for EmphysemaType of Physician: Pulmonologist What is a Pulmonologist? A subspecialty certification by the Board of Internal Medicine; practitioners focus on diseases of the lungs and airways. The pulmonologist diagnoses and treats pneumonia, cancer, asthma, occupational diseases, sleep disorders, emphysema, and other complex disorders of the lungs. Pulmonologists evaluate lung function, examine the bronchial airways, and prescribe and monitor mechanical ventilation. Many pulmonary disease experts are also expert in critical care. Specialty: Pulmonary Disease Common Name: Lung Doctor Pulmonologist Doctors in Billerica * Lahey Clinic Medical Center Pulmonary & Critical Care  Lahey Clinic Medical Center Pulmonary & Critical Care  Lahey Clinic Medical Center Pulmonary & Critical Care  Lahey Clinic Medical Center Pulmonary & Critical Care  Lahey Clinic Medical Center Pulmonary & Critical Care  Lahey Clinic Medical Center Pulmonary & Critical Care  Lahey Clinic Medical Center Pulmonary & Critical Care  Lahey Clinic Medical Center Pulmonary & Critical Care  Lahey Clinic Medical Center Pulmonary & Critical Care  Lahey Clinic Medical Center Pulmonary & Critical Care  Lahey Clinic Medical Center Pulmonary & Critical Care  Irwin A Buchwald MD  Lung Specialists of The Merrimack Valley  Lung Specialists of The Merrimack Valley  Lung Specialists of The Merrimack Valley  Lung Specialists of The Merrimack Valley  Woburn Medical Associates PC  Michael Zaslow MD  Peter M Barkin MD  Peter M Barkin MD  Surendra S Chawla MD & Mandy Kaur MD  Reading Internal Medicine  Merrimack Valley Pulmonary  Merrimack Valley Pulmonary  Merrimack Valley Pulmonary  Waltham Medical Group  Caritas Holy Family Hospital  Sleep Health Centers  Aram Tomasian MD  Mark B Bown MD  Mystic Medical Group  Melrose Medical Associates  Mount Auburn Hospital Travel Medicine Center  Robert Schiffman MD  Beer & Vernovsky MDs  Beer & Vernovsky MDs  Pulmonary Associates of Greater Boston PC  Bijan Sadrnoori MD  St Elizabeth Medical Ctr Pulmonology  St Elizabeth Medical Ctr Pulmonology  St Elizabeth Medical Ctr Pulmonology  St Elizabeth Medical Ctr Pulmonology  St Elizabeth's Medical Center Department of Medicine  St Elizabeth Medical Ctr Pulmonology  St Elizabeth Medical Ctr Pulmonology  Sleep Health Centers  Sleep Health Centers  Sleep Health Centers  Pulmonary Associates of Greater Boston PC  Harvard Vanguard Medical Associated Endocrinology  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pulmonary Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pulmonary Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pulmonary Medicine  Children's Hospital Boston Pulmonology  Beth Israel Deaconess Needham Emergency Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pulmonary Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pulmonary Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pulmonary Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pulmonary Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pulmonary Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pulmonary Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pulmonary Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Pulmonary Medicine  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Jules Schwaber MD  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Brigham & Women's Hospital Center for Chest Diseases  Benjamin White MD  Brigham & Womens Hospital Center for Chest Disease  Brigham & Womens Hospital Center for Chest Disease  Brigham & Womens Hospital Center for Chest Disease  Marilyn P Griffin MD  Brigham & Womens Hospital Center for Chest Disease  Brigham & Womens Hospital Center for Chest Disease  Brigham & Womens Hospital Center for Chest Disease  Brigham & Womens Hospital Center for Chest Disease  Pulmonary & Critical Care Unit at MGH  VA Boston Healthcare System  Pulmonary & Critical Care Unit at MGH  Pulmonary & Critical Care Unit at MGH  Pulmonary & Critical Care Unit at MGH  Pulmonary & Critical Care Unit at MGH  Massachusetts General Hospital Pulmonology  VA Boston Healthcare System  Pulmonary & Critical Care Unit at MGH  Pulmonary & Critical Care Unit at MGH  MGH Pulmonary & Critical Care Billerica, MassachusettsUpcoming Local Events2012-05-26
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EmphysemaIntroduction to emphysemaThe lungs are a pair of organs in the chest that are primarily responsible for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air we breathe and the blood. The lung is composed of clusters of small air sacs (alveoli) divided by thin, elastic walls or membranes. Capillaries, the tiniest of blood vessels, run within these walls between the alveoli and allow blood and air to come near each other. The distance between the air in the lungs and the blood in the capillaries is very small, and allows molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide to transfer across the membranes. Air reaches the alveoli via the bronchial tree. The trachea splits into the right and left mainstem bronchi, which branch further into bronchioles and finally ends in the alveolar air sacs. When we breathe in, air enters the lung and the alveoli expand. Oxygen is transferred onto hemoglobin molecules in the red blood cells to be transported to the rest of the body for use. As oxygen attaches to the red blood cell, carbon dioxide, the waste product of metabolism, detaches and crosses into the alveoli to be exhaled. When we breathe out, the alveoli get squeezed by the elasticity in their walls and air is pushed out of the lungs.
What is emphysema?Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lung(s) and occurs when the alveolar walls are destroyed along with the capillary blood vessels that run within them. This lessens the total area within the lung where blood and air can come together, limiting the potential for oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer. In early emphysema, there is associated inflammation of the small airways or bronchioles that limits the amount of air that can flow to the alveoli. In more severe emphysema, there is also loss of elasticity in the alveolar walls that have not been destroyed. When the patient breathes out, th... Recommended Reading Related to EmphysemaWhat Is Heart Failure?Heart failure does not mean the heart has stopped working. Rather, it means that the heart's pumping power is weaker than normal. With heart failure, blood moves through the heart and body at a slower rate, and pressure in the heart increases. As a result, the heart cannot pump enough oxygen and nutrients to meet the body's needs. The chambers of the heart respond by stretching to hold more blood to pump through the body or by becoming more stiff and thickened. This helps to keep the blood moving for a short while, but in time, the heart muscle walls weaken and are unable to pump as strongly. As a result, the kidneys often respond by causing the body to retain fluid (water) and sodium. If fluid builds up in the arms, legs, ankles, feet, lungs or other organs, the body becomes congested, and congestive heart failure is the term used to describe the condition. What Causes Heart Failure?Heart failure is caused b... Other Related Emphysema ArticlesEmergency Contact for Billerica
Nearby Billerica Hospitals *Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital Tewksbury Hospital Lahey Clinic Medical Center Saints Medical Center HC Solomon Mental Health Center Lowell General Hospital Emerson Hospital HEALTHSOUTH New England Rehabilitation Hospital Isham Health Center Winchester Hospital McLean Hospital Lawrence General Hospital Lawrence Memorial Hospital Melrose Wakefield Hospital Caritas Holy Family Hospital and Medical Center Somerville Hospital Mount Auburn Hospital Northeast Rehabilitation Health Network North Shore Medical Center Youville Hospital and Rehabilitation Center Cambridge Hospital Whidden Memorial Hospital Caritas St Elizabeth's Medical Center Franciscan Hospital for Children Newton Wellesley Hospital Kindred Hospital Boston Nashoba Valley Medical Center Arbour HRI Hospital Lawrence F Quigley Memorial Hospital M I T Medical Baldpate Hospital Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Kindred Hospital Boston North Shore Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary Shriners Hospitals for Children Boston Burn Hospital Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Southern New Hampshire Medical Center Children's Hospital Boston Dana Farber Cancer Institute Brigham & Women's Hospital St Joseph Hospital Tufts New England Medical Center New England Baptist Hospital VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus Merrimack Valley Hospital Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Haverhill Boston Medical Center Salem Hospital & the Birthplace Arbour Hospital North Shore Children's Hospital Radius Specialty Hospital Boston Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital Bournewood Hospital Faulkner Hospital Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham Kindred Specialty Hospital Natick MetroWest Medical Center Leonard Morse Hospital Beverly Hospital Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Massachusetts Mental Health Center VA Boston Healthcare System West Roxbury Campus UMass Memorial Marlborough Hospital MetroWest Medical Center Framingham Union Hospital Caritas Carney Hospital Hampstead Hospital Parkland Medical Center Milton Hospital UMass Memorial Clinton Hospital Westwood Lodge Hospital Quincy Medical Center Westborough State Hospital Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Westborough HealthAlliance Hospital Leominster Campus Featured Articles*Provider Directory Terms of Use: The WebMD 'Provider Directory' is provided by WebMD for use by the general public as a quick reference of information about Providers. The Provider Directory is not intended as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any Provider contained therein. Inclusion in the Provider Directory does not imply recommendation or endorsement nor does omission in the Provider Directory imply WebMD disapproval. |
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Congestive Heart Failure
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Chronic Cough
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Chronic Bronchitis
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Smoking (How to Quit Smoking)
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Heart Failure
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Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency
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Lung Anatomy
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Secondhand Smoke
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Emphysema, Chronic Bronchitis, and Colds
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