Dr. Brian Prentice Burlew MD

Atelectasis is not a household name and many people would probably freak out and be confused if they are told that they have it. You are probably wondering what it means and what its causes are.To define atelectasis, we can say that it is a medical condition where a portion or all of your lungs...

IntroductionCyanosis is the medical term for a bluish discoloration of the skin, nails, toes, and mucous membranes. It is generally caused by low levels of oxygen in the blood. Normally, blood appears bright red when it is fully oxygenated. However, when blood does not have enough oxygen, it turns...

OverviewDyspnea is the clinical term for shortness of breath or breathlessness experienced by both healthy individuals and patients with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases. It can also be a temporary condition that quickly resolves on its own or a symptom of a more serious health condition. A...

The Nature of Cancerous CellsEvery cell in the human body is programmed to carry out a specific role. For example, a red blood cell carries oxygen to tissues, a white blood cell wards off infection, and an intestinal cell absorbs nutrients in the digestive tract. All these cells are programmed to...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD refers to a group of respiratory diseases characterized by blockage of the airways and difficulty in breathing. The most common respiratory conditions that fall into the group are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The damage caused by COPD to the...

According to a statistic, 65 million people have moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) around the world. More than 3 million people have died because of COPD in 2005, which corresponds to 5 percent of all deaths globally. This puts COPD as one of the major causes of...