What Are the Differences Between Lung Fibrosis and Fibrous Lesions?

There is a significant difference between lung fibrosis and lung fibrous lesions. Generally speaking, lung fibrosis does not have a major impact on the patient's body and the patient will not exhibit any obvious symptoms of discomfort. However, the discovery of lung fibrous lesions often indicates the presence of pathological changes in the lungs, which require treatment. Both lung fibrosis and lung fibrous lesions can be detected through medical examinations.

Limited fibrous lesions are mostly sequelae of infections. In fact, they are equivalent to scars. The majority of skin scars are caused by trauma, while lung scars are mostly due to infections. Infections can easily leave necrosis in the lungs. After the infection is eliminated, the body will mobilize fibroblasts around the necrotic area to secrete collagen fibers and other substances to fill the void left by the necrosis. These collagen fibers are the cause of fibrous lesion formation.

Fibrous lesions are mostly limited to one segment of the lung on one side. This is related to the fact that infections usually do not affect both lungs. However, there are also some infectious lesions, such as SARS infection, that can leave extensive fibrous changes in both lungs after recovery. Interstitial lung diseases, on the other hand, usually present as symmetrical, multiple grid-like changes in both lungs, even forming honeycomb-like lung alterations.

In terms of their impact on lung function, fibrous lesions have a relatively small effect due to their limited lesion range. They rarely cause significant decline in lung function. On the other hand, bilateral lung fibrosis can have an impact on lung function even in the early stages of the disease. In the end-stage of the disease, it can lead to severe hypoxia, type I respiratory failure, and even threaten the patient's life.