popcorn lung

American  

[pahp-kawrn luhng] / ˈpɑpˌkɔrn ˌlʌŋ /

noun

plural

popcorn lungs

1. a disorder of the lungs, known technically as bronchiolitis obliterans and affecting workers who breathe in diacetyl or similar substances.

---

Example Sentences

Scarring of the lung's tiny air sacs known popularly as popcorn lung has been traced to vape liquids containing diacetyl, a flavoring that used to be added to popcorn.

From Scientific American

The stakes were often extraordinarily high: a hospital where four people had died and hundreds were at risk; a factory where workers were at risk of getting an irreversible respiratory disease called “Popcorn Lung”; a military base where housing was suspected in the deaths of 11 infants.

From Washington Post

A Canadian teenager has developed a vaping-related lung injury similar to "popcorn lung", his doctors say.

From BBC

Doctors say the 17-year-old boy’s case looks more like “popcorn lung,” an injury once seen in factory workers who breathed in a chemical used to create a butter flavor.

From Seattle Times

Instead, the condition of his lungs suggested a potential case of bronchiolitis obliterans, the medical term for popcorn lung.

From Seattle Times