Glossary
If you or a member of your family has cystic fibrosis (CF), you'll want to learn all you can about the disease and its treatment. To make your task easier, we've compiled a glossary to help acquaint you with the terms and concepts that are central to understanding CF and CF therapy—and getting the most out of the Pulmozyme Web site.
- Airway clearance techniques (ACTs): Different methods to loosen thick, sticky mucus in the lungs. Examples include coughing, huffing (forcefully pushing air out through the mouth), chest physical therapy, high-frequency chest wall oscillation, intrapulmonary percussive ventilation, oscillating positive expiratory pressure, percussion, and positive expiratory pressure therapy.
- Alveoli: The millions of tiny air sacs in the lungs at the ends of bronchioles where oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide from the blood. In CF, mucus clogs alveoli, and interferes with oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange.
- Bacteria: Tiny, one-celled organisms that are often the cause of infections. People with CF are prone to bacterial lung infections (often caused by Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa). However, some bacteria normally found in the body are helpful. For example, Escherichia coli lives in the intestines and helps with digestion.
- Bronchus: The large airways that move air from the trachea to the lungs. The bronchi (more than one bronchus) branch into smaller airways called bronchioles. These lead to the alveoli. In CF, mucus clogs the bronchi and interferes with breathing.
- Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA): The chemical coding for a gene. DNA decides the "genetic message" in each cell, organ, and organism.
- Enzymes: Proteins that help make and increase certain chemical processes in the body, like the breaking down of foods in digestion. Because people with CF have mucus that often blocks the passageways through which digestive enzymes from the pancreas flow, they may need enzyme replacements to digest food.
- Hemoglobin: The oxygen-carrying, predominant protein that gives red blood cells their color.
- Infection: Part of the cycle of CF progression that occurs when bacteria or other organisms (for example, fungus) grow in the mucus buildup.
- Inflammation: Part of the cycle of CF progression that occurs when the airways swell due to irritation.
- Mucus membrane: Tissue that contains mucus-making epithelial cells. Mucus membranes are found in the nose, mouth, lungs, esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
- Nebulizer: A device that makes and delivers a medicine mist when attached to an air compressor.
- Neutrophil: A type of white blood cell filled with tiny sacs of enzymes that help the cell to destroy bacteria.
- Obstruction: Part of the cycle of CF progression in which thick mucus accumulates in the lungs and is hard to remove, making breathing difficult.
- Protein: A large molecule required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body's cells, tissues, and organs. Each protein has unique functions. Proteins are essential components of muscles, skin, bones, and the body as a whole.
- Pulmonary: Relating to the lungs.
- Trachea: Also known as the windpipe, the largest central airway, the trachea connects the upper respiratory tract to the lower respiratory tract.
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