ABSTRACT
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an allencompassing term for chronic airflow obstruction associated dyspnea. Most commonly associated with inhalational exposure to tobacco smoke and biomass fuels, this disease has been traditionally categorized into two distinct subsets: chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chronic bronchitis is defined as a chronic productive cough for three consecutive months in two consecutive years with alternative etiologies having been ruled out first. Emphysema is defined as abnormal enlargement of airspaces distal to the terminal bronchioles that is associated with destruction of the airway walls in the absence of fibrosis.
