A pulmonary condition with loss of elasticity in the alveoli and the interalveolar septa...the meat-foam and their interleaving sheaths that you fill up when you breathe. If a septum gets too stretched over time, several of the little sacs will coalesce together, decreasing the surface area for oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange. If enough of these sacs lose their separateness, like small soap bubbles joining to make a few larger ones, breathing gets harder because each breath accomplishes less interchange of gases, resulting in emphysema Caused by years of bad asthma, tobacco smoking, chemical damage, and other chronic lung disorders, it can be halted but not reversed. The first breath you take as a newborn defines forever the number of the alveolar bubbles...they cannot be regenerated if they coalesce together.... emphysema
Lichen, or licheni?cation, is a term used to describe a thickening of chronically in?amed skin to give a tree-bark-like appearance.
Lichen simplex (neurodermatitis) is a form of eczema (see DERMATITIS) perpetuated by constant rubbing of the affected skin. Typically, well-de?ned plaques occur on one or both sides of the nape of the neck, on the ulnar forearm near the elbow, or on the sides of the calves. It is often associated with emotional stress.
Lichen planus is a less common in?ammation of the skin characterised by small, shiny, ?at-topped violaceous papules which may coalesce to form large plaques. Itching can be intense. Typically seen on the ?exor aspects of the wrists, the lower back and on the legs below the knees, it may also affect the mucous membranes of the mouth and lips. The cause is unknown. While in some patients the disorder appears to be nervous or emotional in origin, it can be caused by certain drugs such as CHLOROQUINE. Severe cases may require oral CORTICOSTEROIDS to control the eruption.... lichen
Patients with amoebic dysentery may develop liver complications, usually by blood borne infection via the portal system. Small lesions coalesce to form abscesses capable of destroying liver cells.
Treatment: as for LIVER ABSCESS. ... liver – amoebic hepatitis
n. a point of coalescence. The confluence of the sinuses is the meeting point of the superior sagittal, transverse, straight, and occipital venous sinuses in the dura mater in the occipital region of the skull.... confluence