Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health logoLink to Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
. 1978 Dec;32(4):282–288. doi: 10.1136/jech.32.4.282

Terminology in chronic obstructive lung diseases.

C H Fletcher
PMCID: PMC1060960  PMID: 744819

Abstract

Until the 1960's there was great confusion, both within and between countries, on the meaning of diagnostic terms such as emphysema, asthma, and chronic brochitis. Proposals made by a group of British doctors in 1959 gradually received widespread acceptance but in recent years some new problems have developed. These include difficulties in the definition of airflow obstruction, recognition that what used to be regarded as a single disease, chronic bronchitis, comprises at least two distinct pathological processes, and uncertainty about the degree of variability which distinguishes asthmatic from more persistent forms of airflow obstruction. These are all problems which could be solved by continuance of appropriate research and of riqorous attention to the principles which determine accurate and acceptable definitions of disease.

Full text

PDF
282

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Burr M. L., St Leger A. S., Bevan C., Merrett T. G. A community survey of asthmatic characteristics. Thorax. 1975 Dec;30(6):663–668. doi: 10.1136/thx.30.6.663. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Burrows B., Fletcher C. M., Heard B. E., Jones N. L., Wootliff J. S. The emphysematous and bronchial types of chronic airways obstruction. A clinicopathological study of patients in London and Chicago. Lancet. 1966 Apr 16;1(7442):830–835. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(66)90181-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. COCHRANE A. L., CHAPMAN P. J., OLDHAM P. D. Observers' errors in taking medical histories. Lancet. 1951 May 5;1(6662):1007–1009. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(51)92518-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. COCHRANE A. L. SCIENCE AND SYNDROMES. Postgrad Med J. 1965 Jul;41:440–442. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.41.477.440. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Depierre A., Bignon J., Lebeau A., Brouet G. Quantitative study of parenchyma and small conductive airways in chronic nonspecific lung disease. Use of histologic stereology and bronchial casts. Chest. 1972 Dec;62(6):699–708. doi: 10.1378/chest.62.6.699. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. FAIRBAIRN A. S., WOOD C. H., FLETCHER C. M. Variability in answers to a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms. Br J Prev Soc Med. 1959 Oct;13:175–193. doi: 10.1136/jech.13.4.175. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. FLETCHER C. M., ELMES P. C., FAIRBAIRN A. S., WOOD C. H. The significance of respiratory symptoms and the diagnosis of chronic bronchitis in a working population. Br Med J. 1959 Aug 29;2(5147):257–266. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5147.257. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. FLETCHER C. M., HUGH-JONES P., McNICOL M. W., PRIDE N. B. The diagnosis of pulmonary emphysema in the presence of chronic bronchitis. Q J Med. 1963 Jan;32:33–49. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. FLETCHER C. M. The clinical diagnosis of pulmonary emphysema; an experimental study. Proc R Soc Med. 1952 Sep;45(9):577–584. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Fletcher C. M., Peto R., Tinker C. M. A comparison of the assessment of simple bronchitis (chronic mucus hypersecretion) by measurements of sputum volume and by standardized questions on phlegm production. Int J Epidemiol. 1974 Dec;3(4):315–319. doi: 10.1093/ije/3.4.315. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Fletcher C., Peto R. The natural history of chronic airflow obstruction. Br Med J. 1977 Jun 25;1(6077):1645–1648. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6077.1645. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Godfrey S., Edwards R. H., Campbell E. J., Armitage P., Oppenheimer E. A. Repeatability of physical signs in airways obstruction. Thorax. 1969 Jan;24(1):4–9. doi: 10.1136/thx.24.1.4. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hogg J. C., Macklem P. T., Thurlbeck W. M. Site and nature of airway obstruction in chronic obstructive lung disease. N Engl J Med. 1968 Jun 20;278(25):1355–1360. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196806202782501. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Krueger D. E., Rogot E., Blackwelder W. C., Reid D. D. The predictive value of a postal questionnaire on cardio-respiratory symptoms. J Chronic Dis. 1970 Nov;23(5):411–421. doi: 10.1016/0021-9681(70)90025-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Macklem P. T. Airway obstruction and collateral ventilation. Physiol Rev. 1971 Apr;51(2):368–436. doi: 10.1152/physrev.1971.51.2.368. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Matsuba K., Thurlbeck W. M. Disease of the small airways in chronic bronchitis. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1973 Apr;107(4):552–558. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1973.107.4.552. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Mitchell R. S. Outlook in emphysema and chronic bronchitis. N Engl J Med. 1969 Feb 20;280(8):445–446. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196902202800810. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. REID D. D., ROSE G. A. ASSESSING THE COMPARABILITY OF MORTALITY STATISTICS. Br Med J. 1964 Dec 5;2(5422):1437–1439. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5422.1437. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. REID L. Measurement of the bronchial mucous gland layer: a diagnostic yardstick in chronic bronchitis. Thorax. 1960 Jun;15:132–141. doi: 10.1136/thx.15.2.132. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Reid D. D., Cornfield J., Markush R. E., Seigel D., Pedersen E., Haenszel W. Studies of disease among migrants and native populations in Great Britain, Norway, and the United States. 3. Prevalence of cardiorespiratory symptoms among migrants and native-born in the United States. Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 1966 Jan;19:321–346. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. SCADDING J. G. MEANING OF DIAGNOSTIC TERMS IN BRONCHO-PULMONARY DISEASE. Br Med J. 1963 Dec 7;2(5370):1425–1430. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5370.1425. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. SCADDING J. G. Principles of definition in medicine with special reference to chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Lancet. 1959 Feb 14;1(7068):323–325. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(59)90308-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES