Bronchitis

A Bronchitis is a non-neoplastic disorder of structure or function of the bronchi resulting from infectious or noninfectious irritation. The term bronchitis should be modified by appropriate words or phrases to indicate its etiology, its chronicity, the presence of associated airways dysfunction, or type of anatomic change. The term chronic bronchitis, when unqualified, refers to a condition associated with prolonged exposure to nonspecific bronchial irritants and accompanied by mucous hypersecretion and certain structural alterations in the bronchi. Anatomic changes may include hypertrophy of the mucous-secreting apparatus and epithelial metaplasia, as well as more classic evidences of inflammation. In epidemiologic studies, the presence of cough or sputum production on most days for at least three months of the year has sometimes been accepted as a criterion for the diagnosis.