EMPHYSEMA

Emphysema

Emphysema

Introduction

A chronic, progressive disease of the lungs, involving a hardening and thickening of the tissues of the terminal bronchioles, the air sacs, and the alveoli (the smallest branches of the lung passageways, the air chambers that terminate them, and the cuplike organs off these chambers that serve as the exchangers of oxygen and carbon dioxide into and out of the blood). In the early stages, the symptoms of emphysema are similar to those of asthma, including coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. As the disease progresses and the lungs become less and less able to expel air (that is, as the air sacs become less and less flexible and the passageways leading to them become more and more constricted), they expand in size, both in an effort to create more exchange tissue and as a consequence of filling up like a balloon with stale, unexpelled air (Japuntich, Piper, Leventhal, Bolt & Baker 2011, pp. 34-42). The patient develops a characteristic "barrel chest"; the skin turns blue as a result of the inability to exhale carbon dioxide. The enlarged lungs put physical pressure on the heart which, together with the extra load placed on the circulatory system by the increased energy needed to breathe and by the poisons the body is unable to excrete through the damaged lungs, often leads to heart attacks. Death usually results. There is no cure: what treatment there is involves purification of the air being breathed and the administration of drugs that can temporarily expand the bronchioles and allow for a slightly greater exchange of air.

Discussion and Analysis

Emphysema is understood to be a chronic, progressive illness impacting the actual lung area. Emphysema leads to the actual tissues that comprise the actual physical shape and function from the lung area to deteriorate. It's categorized because one from the chronic obstructive pulmonary illnesses (CPOD). Individuals struggling with emphysema go through the destruction from the lung tissues from the alveoli, that are small air sacs within the lung area. When a person with emphysema breathes in, the actual alveoli cannot fully fill up with air, leading to decreased lung expansion as well as Emphysema Symptoms difficulty breathing. Whenever regular breathing happens, air breathed in with the mouth is attracted to the actual bronchi as well as in to the alveoli, which are the small sacs surrounded by capillaries. The alveoli absorb oxygen as well as carry it to the blood (Japuntich, Piper, Leventhal, Bolt & Baker 2011, pp. 34-42).

Emphysema can be broken into main as well as secondary categories called panaciar as well as centricinar emphysema. Panaciar emphysema takes place when the whole respiratory acinus is broadened. This type is much more common within the lower lobes, specifically the actual basal sections and the anterior margins from the lung area. Centriacinar emphysema takes place when the respiratory bronchiole expands. With this particular form of emphysema, the actual alveoli are the same. The centriacinar form is generally found in the upper lobes from the lung ...