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Pneumonia

Prevention

Because many bacterial pneumonias occur in patients who are first infected with the influenza virus (the flu), yearly vaccination against influenza can decrease the risk of pneumonia for certain patients, particularly the elderly and people with chronic diseases (such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, other lung or heart diseases, sickle cell disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and forms of cancer).

A specific vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae is very protective, and should also be administered to patients with chronic illnesses. Patients who have decreased immune resistance (due to treatment with chemotherapy for various forms of cancer or due to infection with the AIDS virus), and therefore may be at risk for infection with Pneumocystis carinii, are frequently put on a regular drug regimen of Trimethoprim sulfa and/or inhaled pentamidine to avoid Pneumocystispneumonia.

Resources

Books

Andreoli, Thomas E., et al. Cecil Essentials of Medicine. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company, 1993.

Berkow, Robert, and Andrew J. Fletcher. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. Rahway, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories, 1992.

Cormican, M.G., and M.A. Pfaller. "Molecular Pathology of Infectious Diseases." In Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 20th ed. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 2001.

Isselbacher, Kurt J., et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. New York:McGraw Hill, 1994.

Kobayashi, G., Patrick R. Murray, Ken Rosenthal, and Michael Pfaller. Medical Microbiology. St. Louis: Mosby, 2003.

Mandell, Douglas, et al. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. New York: Churchill Livingstone Inc., 1995.

Parker, James N., and Phillip M. Parker, eds. The Official Patient's Sourcebook on Pneumonia: A Revised and Updated Directory for the Internet Age. San Diego: Icon Health, 2002.

Tomasz, Alexander. Streptococcus Pneumoniae: Molecular Biology & Mechanisms of Disease. New York: Mary Ann Liebert, 2000.


Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt

KEY TERMS


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Alveoli (singular, alveolus)

—The air sacs of the lung, in which oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange occurs.

Bronchi (singular, bronchus)

—The major, larger diameter air tubes running from the trachea to the bronchioles.

Bronchiole

—The smallest diameter air tubes, branching off of the bronchi, and ending in the alveoli (air sacs).

Cilia

—Tiny, hair-like projections from a cell. In the respiratory tract, cilia beat constantly in order to move mucus and debris up and out of the respiratory tree, in order to protect the lung from infection or irritation by foreign bodies.

Consolidation

—One of the main symptoms of bacterial pneumonia, in which the alveoli become filled not with air, but with fluid and cellular debris, thereby decreasing the lung's ability to effectively exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Epiglottis

—The flap at the top of the larynx that regulates air movement and prevents food from entering the trachea.

Esophagus

—The tube down which swallowed substances must pass in order to reach the stomach.

Larynx

—The air tube made by the merging of the nasopharynx and oropharynx. Air passes through the larynx and into the trachea.

Nasopharynx

—The tube which carries air inspired or expired through the nose.

Oropharynx

—The tube which carries air inspired or expired through the mouth.

Parenchyma

—The tissue of the lung which is not involved with carrying air or oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange, but which provides support to other functional lung structures.

Sputum

—Clumps of mucus that can be coughed up from the lungs and bronchi.

Trachea

—The large diameter air tube which extends between the larynx and the main bronchus.

Additional topics

Science EncyclopediaScience & Philosophy: Planck mass to PositPneumonia - Anatomy Of The Lung, Function Of The Respiratory System, Respiratory System Defenses, Conditions Predisposing To Pneumonia - Signs and symptoms of pneumonia, Treatment