Emphysema

 Long term, progressive disease of the lungs  Part of the C.O.P.D. group—chronic obstructive pulmonary disease  Affects the bronchioles and alveoli

 The lung tissue is destroyed and does not maintain its necessary shape for adequate gas exchange

 Emphysema changes the anatomy of the lungs in several ways  Lungs are normally very spongy and elastic

 Sponge Analogy:  When breath is taken, the chest wall expands, expanding the lungs  Similar to how a sponge absorbs water when it is squeezed and released, suction draws air into the lungs when they expand

 A sponge can absorb water because it has many small pores expanding at the same time, picking up the water after being squeezed  If the pores were larger, they would not take in as much water

 Lungs require hundreds of millions of alveoli to draw enough air into them to be useful  Emphysema destroys the alveoli  The fewer and the bigger the alveoli, the less effectively they perform

 Emphysema is the opposite of pneumonia; too large alveoli  In other words, the air sacs enlarge until they balloon outward (distention)

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Emphysema, Gross Level ©

Healthy Lung Tissue ©

Bronchiole and Arteriole Lung Specimen ©

Emphysema ©

 Respiration is a two step process:  Inhalation (active) → exhalation (passive)

Pathway to Emphysema  See board  Precursor: chronic bronchitis

 Smoking is the number one cause of emphysema  Contributes in two ways:  Destroys lung tissue (cause of the obstruction)  Causes inflammation and irritation of the airways (causes disease to worsen)

Symptoms  Shortness of breath  Coughing  Wheezing  “Purse lipped breathing”  Barrel chest  Cyanosis: lack of oxygen to tissues causes skin to look blue (fingernail beds, lips, tongue)

Cyanosis

Diagnosis  Chest sounds  Chest X-ray  Lung function test  Blood test

Treatments  Stop smoking  Bronchodilating medication: allow for better gas exchange  Surgery  Transplant