• A disease characterized by the progressive invasion of SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS into the LYMPHATIC VESSELS, and the BLOOD VESSELS. The majority of the cases occur in the LUNGS of women of child-bearing age, eventually blocking the flow of air, blood, and lymph. The common symptom is shortness of breath (DYSPNEA).
  NLM Medical Subject Headings
  U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
• A multifocal neoplasm with perivascular epithelioid cell differentiation affecting almost exclusively females of child-bearing age. It is characterized by the presence of smooth muscle and epithelioid cells and by the proliferation of lymphatic vessels. Sites of involvement include the lungs, mediastinum, and the retroperitoneum. It usually presents with chylous pleural effusion or ascites.
  NCI
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• Rare lung disorder of unknown etiology mostly in women of childbearing age; proliferation of atypical smooth muscle cells in lungs, airways, blood and lymph vessels causing obstruction; symptoms include dyspnea and pneumothorax.
  CRISP Thesaurus
  National Institutes of Health, 2006
• Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is an indolent, progressive growth of smooth muscle cells throughout the lungs, pulmonary blood vessels, lymphatics, and pleurae. It is rare and occurs in young women. Symptoms are dyspnea, cough, chest pain, and hemoptysis; spontaneous pneumothorax is common. Diagnosis is suspected on the basis of symptoms...
  Merck Manuals
  Merck & Co., Inc., 2025
• Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare disorder resulting from proliferation in the lung, kidney, and axial lymphatics of abnormal smooth muscle�like cells (LAM cells) that exhibit features of neoplasia and neural crest origin. Cystic destruction of the lung with progressive pulmonary dysfunction and the presence of abdominal tumors...
  Medscape
  WebMD, 2025
• Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (lim-FAN-je-o-LI-o-MI-o-ma-TO-sis), or LAM, is a rare cystic lung disease that mostly affects women in their mid-forties. In LAM, an unusual type of cell begins to grow out of control throughout the body, including in the lungs, lymph nodes and vessels, and kidneys. Over time, these LAM cells form cysts and...
  NIH Genetic and Rare Diseases
  National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences