Question

Ben's lungs have emphysema. What is the passage of oxygen in his lungs and his body?

Answer 1

Emphysema is an obstructive condition, which is included in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

What happens in emphysema?

It is an irreversible condition of the lungs where the alveoli in the lungs are permanently enlarged and the walls between them are destroyed. Bronchioles collapse and the air becomes trapped inside the alveoli, which leads to problems in exhalation or causes hyperinflation. This eventually results in the rupturing of the alveoli. What happens next is, instead of having many small air spaces in the lungs it has less number of air spaces having a larger size. This greatly compromises with the surface area that is available for the exchange of gases.

The person would be unable to breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide effectively.

This causes shortness of breath, chest pain, wheezing, persistent cough, and sputum.

Oxygen levels

As explained above, there is difficulty in breathing in oxygen. So the total amount of oxygen entering the lungs would be less than normal. To achieve normal oxygen levels the person has to breathe in harder.

Also, we discussed that the surface area for the exchange of gases will be compromised. So the body will be in an oxygen-deprived state. This can lead to hypoxia.