Thoracoscopy is the use of a flexible endoscope (thoracoscope) to visually inspect the pleural space and lung surfaces. Physicians utilize this proced...

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the single terminology used for a group of disorders that result in lung damage, make breathing difficult and impai...

Pulmonary Functions tests (PFT) is a group of non-invasive diagnostic tests that evaluate how well your lungs are functioning. These tests measure var...

Both for diagnosis and sometimes for treatment of different respiratory diseases, it becomes important to visualize the inside of the lungs with non-s...

Cancer is a term used to describe a group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. When cancer starts in the...

Sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep. These interruptions in breathing or pauses, known a...

Onset of winters is a troublesome period all over India especially in the North for people of all ages - more so for the elderly, the children and the...

Inhalation of different aromatics, vapours and smokes had been popular since millennia as a life-style habit among people of all classes in different....

EBUS or Endo-bronchial Ultrasound is an important investigation required for the diagnosis of thoracic/ lung problems. EBUS involves the sta...

A 55 year old man came to our clinic with refractory cough and a nagging sensation of a prick in the middle of the chest for about 10 days. The troubl...

Bronchial asthma is a very common disease which affects at all ages – from childhood to old age. But for a type of severe asthma, the disease is...

Asthma is a common ailment especially in case of younger people. Unlike most other chronic diseases which do not commonly occur during the child-bea...

The 3rd wave of COVID-19 infection due to the Corona Virus (SARS-CoV2) has significantly diminished in this country. There had been a rapid ris...

Breath is the essence of life. Any difficulty with breathing is fearsome. Rapid or difficult breathing following an exercise is common and non-threate...

  A new variant of COVID-19 virus detected first in South Africa and designated as a ‘variant of concern’ Omicron’ by the Worl...

A sleep disorder is defined as a condition that frequently impacts your ability to get enough quality and quantity sleep. While it’s normal to o...

Respiratory system is in direct contact with the atmosphere- the air. Therefore, many respiratory problems can occur due to air pollution, although se...

Pneumonia is an acute infection of lung parenchyma. It is a heterogeneous entity defined on the basis of the situation in which it is diagnosed, the...

Corticosteroids, also known simply as steroids constitute an important group of drugs used for a number of diseases especially of immunological or a...

Vaccination is an effective method to prevent an infection and/ or to reduce its severity and morbidity. Vaccination involves the administration of an...

Tuberculosis, a disease with which both the medical personnel and the lay are quite familiar perhaps tops the list of scourges in the history of man.....

  Interstitial lung disease (ILD) comprises of a group of several diseases of different causes but similar features. It is classified as eithe...

The lungs like many other organ systems also bear the brunt of the changed life style.  Whether the changes involve the food or the clothing, t...

There is a recent surge in the recognition of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in India.  Although the disease was reported off and on in the late...

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disabling disorder which progressively impairs the lung functions turning an individual as a total...

There is an enormous amount of information on health problems related to travel of western tourists to the tropical countries, including to India.&nbs...

In ancient Indian philosophy, “Breath” (prana) is given the most important status among different functions of human body which sustain...

Inhalational drugs constitute the mainstay for treatment of asthma and other obstructive respiratory disorders such as the chronic obstructive pulmo...

The lungs are host to many diseases, like tuberculosis, cancer, pneumonia, asthma, etc. In order to treat them properly, specialized diagnostic test...

The traditional Hindus believe in the continuity of life after death.  There is a great degree of sanctity attached to the pre-death worship, p...

In medical terminology, the chest (or the thorax) comprises of a bony-cage which contains the two lungs, the heart along with the other structures in...

The lungs are covered on the outer surface by a smooth thin membrane called visceral pleura which is continuous with a similar membrane – the...

COPD, an abbreviation for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease might sound as an odd name to most of the readers of this article.  Yet it is a...

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) comprises of a group of several diseases of different causes but similar features. It is classified as either Primary...

The symptoms of cough, sputum and breathlessness, either alone or in combinations are almost “normally” present in milder forms. It is n...

The lungs are covered on the outer surface by a smooth thin membrane called visceral pleura which is continuous with a similar membrane – the pa...

Lung cancer, which now in India is recognized as a major type of common and fatal cancers, was described as ‘rare’ to “extremely i...

Diagnosis of a chronic disease is the first and almost an inevitable shock which one receives during the adult life. There is a stage of doubt and d...

There has been a rapid change in recognition and spectrum of sarcoidosis in India in the last decade. This was considered a rare disease almost till...

Snoring is conceptually identified with deep sleep, even though we know that sleep need not be associated with snoring. Sleep is blissful but snorin...

The Indian Medical Association has released dengue guidelines and has asked citizens not to panic. Some of the important points to note are listed b...

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) comprises of a group of several diseases of different causes but similar features. It is classified as either Primar...

Absence of evidence is not an evidence of absence” is a dictum which any rational individual always need to keep in mind. Presumably therefore,...

Whenever I suggest the diagnosis of tuberculosis in an individual with a swelling in the neck, I face the immediate retort- “I do not have cough...

Air is normally present in the lungs. On the other hand, the pleural cavities on the two sides (Right and left) formed by the two pleural membranes on...

Some things are beyond belief, though clearly plausible – as the following example illustrates.A male patient in the US suffering from cystic...

‘There is more to this than meets the eye.’ I used to think that this was just a turn of phrase; however, after joining a medical career...

Life Prolonging Treatment : The Right to Refuse? (Legal and Ethical considerations) In medical parlance, a life prolonging treatment refers to all...

Corticosteroids sometimes referred to simply as ‘steroids’, form a large groups of drugs with a common chemical structure.  They po...

  The year was 2003.I had finished my internship and was trying to psych myself for the dreaded entrance exams to MD courses. Needless...

Sarcoidosis is a relatively uncommon disease which in India, has been more commonly diagnosed in the last few years.  Unlike diseases such as a...

Endoscopic examination now available for more than 3-4 decades, has made it possible to visualize the organs such as the stomach, the colon and othe...

The lungs like many other organ systems also bear the brunt of the changed life style.  Whether the changes involve the food or the clothing, t...

Every year the world celebrates May 31st as a No Tobacco Day.  The campaign against tobacco largely owes its origin to the first official re...

IntroductionThe book, meant for general reading chronicles the stories of some of the patients seen by the author during a career of about half a cent...

Asthma is a condition characterized by recurrent episodes of cough, breathlessness, wheezing and phlegm. There is inflammation and narrowing of airway...

  Fanned by news-reports on the TV, press and social media, there is a wide-spread concern about COVID-19 resurgence includi...

  Even though the history of modern day inhalers is relatively recent, human beings are known to use inhalation of smokes of herbal drugs fo...

  Inhalational drugs constitute the mainstay for treatment of asthma and other obstructive respiratory disorders such as the chronic obstruc...

  Patient’s Partnership in Disease Management There is no better example of mutual trust and belief in a relationship than that betwe...