Question

Using the information on the introduction to activity 2, how do conditions such as emphysema and asthma affect a person’s ability to breathe?

Answer 1

In both cases we find breathing problems.

In Emphysema-

Emphysema is a component of COPD, hence it is an obstructive lung disease. In this condition alveoli are destroyed. What happens is these alveoli? They lose their elasticity, their walls lose their strength and they may even rupture. This leads to ineffective clearing of air from the alveoli and also compared the exchange of gases across the respiratory membrane( this is because the surface area for the exchange of gases has been decreased as small alveoli rupture to form a big air space).

Breathing condition-

• We find shortness of breathe and chronic cough in patients of emphysema.
• The breathing pattern suggests an obstructive type of breathing pattern. Here we see prolonged expirations.
• On examination we can find decreased breath sounds with hyper resonance. Wheezing and Ronchi is also seen.
• Breathlessness is apparent mainly when walking and there are minimal symptoms during rest.
• Orthopnea can also be seen in cases of emphysema.

In Asthma-

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition of the airways. Asthma can atopic(due to an allergen) or non-atopic ( in the absence of allergen). We find hyperresponsiveness of the body's immune system in the affected individual to otherwise normal conditions in people. What happens here is the airways become narrow or there is bronchoconstriction. Along with this, there is marked mucus production and inflammation. This further narrows the airways.

Breathing pattern-

• Here also we find obstructive type of breathing pattern, expiration becomes difficult and prolonged. We can also find patterns such as thoracic breathing and paradoxical breathing in these individuals.
• There are recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing.
• These episodes are more common in the night time and early in the morning.