What causes ground-glass nodules in women’s lungs?

The causes of lung nodules are very complicated, because there are many factors that affect a person's lung health. For example, if a person inhales harmful gases for a long time, alveolitis may occur in the lungs. If the alveolitis is not treated in time, it will slowly develop into nodules, including ground-glass nodules in the lungs. In addition, the following reasons can cause lung nodules in women.

What causes ground-glass nodules in women’s lungs?

Ground-glass opacity (GGO) of the lungs appears on chest CT as a thin, round nodule with slightly increased density and a hazy appearance, which resembles frosted glass, hence the name.

GGO can be diffusely scattered or only gathered locally, looking like a small ground glass nodule. Generally speaking, diffuse growth is mostly benign lesions, while focal growth is less likely to be serious.

Many people have small nodules in their lungs, which are usually discovered during CT scans. The vast majority are benign, especially when they occur in young people, which increases the possibility of benign disease. The specific reasons for the formation of small nodules are very complex. The most reliable way to diagnose small nodules in the lungs is to perform a puncture biopsy (generally larger than 1-2 cm) and remove a certain amount of tissue for pathological testing. The recommendation is to observe closely, as generally benign nodules grow very slowly or not at all. It is safer to have a checkup every 3 months, and after 1 year, you can have a checkup every 6 months.

Formation process:

The formation of alveolitis is related to long-term inhalation of harmful gases, dust, silica powder, poison gas, smoke, coal ash, lime powder and other air pollution-generated gases and so on. . The obstruction of the capillaries in the alveoli and bronchioles is called pulmonary obstruction. It specifically damages the metabolic function of the lungs and causes alveolitis.

After alveolitis forms, most patients have no clinical symptoms. Occasionally, a few patients have a brief cough and give up treatment, causing the inflammation to continue to develop. The patients continue to inhale harmful gases, leading to a special reversal change of alveolitis, called dry collateral granuloma, also known as nonspecific alveolitis, which is actually (pulmonary fibrosis).

At this time, some patients still have no symptoms, and only some patients have mild choking cough. 90% of patients give up treatment. With the progression of the disease, the infiltration and infiltration of inflammatory cells gradually decrease, the collagen of the fiber cells is destroyed, and it affects the alveolar ducts and bronchioles. The fibroblasts around the granulomas become collagenized, and ground-glass granular nodules are formed. This is called nonspecific fibrosis, also known as nodular pulmonary fibrosis, which causes lumpy changes in the entire lung. Moreover, cavitation occurs in some places, which is called cavitary tuberculosis. If the disease continues to progress, it is called (honeycomb lung) generalized or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.