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This information was reviewed and approved by Barry J. Make, MD, Irina Petrache, MD (8/31/2016).

Chronic Bronchitis is a disease, often call Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). A person with COPD may have either emphysema or chronic bronchitis, but many have both. Some people with COPD may also have asthma.

Let’s take a look inside the lungs to see what is happening. Look at the healthy airway. Air moves in and out of the middle of the airway. Now look at the airway of chronic bronchitis. In chronic bronchitis, the airway walls are swollen and produce more mucus. In chronic bronchitis a person has a chronic productive cough. This is often due to cigarette smoking.

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