Lung diseases are some of the most common medical conditions in the world. Tens of millions of people suffer from lung disease in the U.S. Smoking, infections, and genetics are responsible for most lung diseases. The lungs are part of a complex apparatus, expanding and relaxing thousands of times each day to bring in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.
Transudate is fluid pushed through the capillary due to high pressure within the capillary. Exudate is fluid that leaks around the cells of the capillaries caused by inflammation. Learn why transudative fluid does not contain proteins, why exudate does contain proteins, and how health professionals can differentiate between the two using Lightâs criteria.
But when they test it and there's a low amount of protein, or a low presence of these solutes or particles that otherwise wouldn't fit in these tiny spaces, then they know it's a transudate. That's how we can tell what type of fluid is present in the plural space and what was the cause of that.