Home > Encyclopedia of Cancer > Hemoptysis

Description

Hemoptysis is the coughing up of blood or bloody sputum from the respiratory tract. The blood can come from the nose, mouth, throat, airway passages leading from the lungs, or the lungs.

Hemoptysis can range from small quantities of blood-stained sputum to life-threatening amounts of blood. Massive hemoptysis is defined as the spitting up of so much blood that it interferes with the patient's breathing. Generally, this is 200 to 600 or more milliliters of blood coughed up within a 24 hour period. Massive hemoptysis is considered a medical emergency. Up to 75 percent of patients with massive hemoptysis die from asphyxiation (lack of oxygen) caused by too much blood in the airways.

Hemoptysis refers specifically to the spitting up of blood that comes from the respiratory tract. Often when persons spit up blood, they are not...