Pulmonary fibrosis

What it means

Replacement of normal lung tissues by fibroblasts and collagen.

Pulmonary fibrosis leads to an irreversible impairment of alveolar oxygen transfer.

In everyday care

Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:

Rare diseases that can present with this41

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category