Bronchitis and Normal Condition in Tertiary Bronchus
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the air passages in the lungs. The condition occurs over a long period and recurs over several years. Symptoms include excessive bronchial mucus with a cough producing sputum. Cigarette smoking (active and passive exposure) is the chief cause of this disease, with air pollution, infection, familial factors, and allergies as exacerbating factors.
Update Date: 9/24/2008 Updated by: Benjamin Medoff, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.