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Medical term for coughing up blood,

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QUESTION

Which of these is a medical term for coughing up blood, associated with lung and heart disease?

  1. Haemoptysis

  2. Haemophilia

  3. Hiccough

  4. Haemorrhoids

ANSWER
Correct Option: Option A,

Haemoptysis


Haemoptysis refers to coughing up blood from the lungs or bronchial tubes (the tubes that bring air to your lungs).

It does not include having blood in your saliva due to bleeding in your mouth, upper airway or from vomiting of blood from your gut.

Haemoptysis causes

One of the most common causes of haemoptysis is an infection of the bronchi (the large tubes going down to your lungs), known as bronchitis. Another common cause is bronchiectasis, a disease where the large airways in your lungs are damaged.

Other causes of haemoptysis include:

  • chronic obstructive lung disease
  • lung cancer
  • tuberculosis
  • pulmonary embolism or a blood clot in the arteries that supply blood to your lungs
  • pneumonia or other lung infection
  • having something stuck in your airway
  • having fluid in your lungs due to a heart condition
  • being on anticoagulant therapy (blood-thinning medications)
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