Question

explain the anatomy and the physiology of COPD

Answer 1

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a slowly progressive respiratory disease of airflow obstruction involving the airways, pulmonary parenchyma or both. The airway obstruction is not fully reversable.

Anatomically the bronchi, alveoli etc are narrowed due to inflammation.

The airway obstruction is both progressive and associated with the lungs abnormal inflammatory respons to the noxious particles or gases. The inflammatory respone occurs throughout the proximal and peripheral airways, lung parenchyma and pulmonary vasculature. Because of the chronic inflammation and the body attempt to repair it, changes and narrowing occur in the airway. In the proximal airways changes include increased number of goblet cells and enlarged submucosal glands, both of which lead to hypersecretion of mucus. In the peripheral airways inflammation causes thickening of the airway wall, peribronchal fibrosis etc. Inflammatory abd structural changes also occur in the lung paranchyma(respiratory bronchioles and alveoli). Alveolar wall destruction leads to loss of alveolar attachments and a decrease in elastic recoil. The chronic inflammatory process affects the pulmonary vasculature and causes thickening of the lining of the vessel and hypertrophy of smooth muscle, which may lead to pulmonary hypertension.