Emphysema is defined as a condition that involves damage to the walls of the air sacs (i.e. the alveoli) of the lungs. Alveoli are usually small, thin-walled, very fragile air sacs that are situated in clusters towards the end of the bronchial tubes deep inside the lungs. There are approximately 300 million alveoli in normal human lungs. As a person breathes in air, the alveoli begins to stretch, thus drawing more oxygen in and transporting it to the blood. When a person exhales, the alveoli shrinks, thus, forcing carbon dioxide out of the body.
When emphysema occurs in a person, the alveoli and lung tissue gets completely destroyed. Due to this damage, the alveoli do not support the bronchial tubes. The tubes thus collapse and lead to an “obstruction” (or a blockage), that helps trap air inside the lungs. Too much inhalation of air within the lungs helps give few patients a barrel-chested like appearance. Also, because there are fewer alveoli, less oxygen will be allowed to move into the bloodstream.
What causes emphysema?
Smoking is one of the crucial factors. Due to this, emphysema is regarded as one of the most preventable types of respiratory disease. Air pollutants present in the home and workplace, genetic (inherited) factors (alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency), and respiratory infections also play a significant role in causing emphysema.
Cigarette smoking not only destroys lung tissue, it also disturbs the airways. This leads to inflammation and damage to cilia that line the bronchial tubes. This results in swollen air pathways, mucus production, and also possesses difficulty in clearing the airways. All of these changes are a result of shortness of breath.
What causes hypoxia in emphysema.
Damage via COPD generally keeps the tiny air sacs in the lungs, known as alveoli, from getting enough oxygen. This is commonly known as alveolar hypoxia. This kind of hypoxia can help begin a chain reaction which may lead to low oxygen in the blood, or hypoxemia. Hypoxemia is a vital reason for the shortness of breath one suffers with COPD. In turn, hypoxemia may lead to hypoxia in other parts of the body (i.e. tissue hypoxia). This usually happens when the blood is not able to carry enough oxygen up to the tissues.
Tissue hypoxia may affect any cells that do not receive enough oxygen or use it properly. Our body may have the ability to adapt to mild or temporary hypoxia. But tissue hypoxia is a serious illness, and may even prove to be fatal. However, COPD hypoxemia and hypoxia both result from a lack of oxygen, a person may have any one of the two, even in the absence of the other.
Symptoms
With either hypoxia or hypoxemia, a person may probably feel shortness of breath. They might cough and wheeze. Early symptoms of hypoxia can make the person feel anxious, upset, and restless. The person may even look pale.
If this problem gets worse, then it proves to be fatal. The skin and lips look a little blue. Serious hypoxia can lead the heart and breathing to stop suddenly (resulting in cardiorespiratory arrest). This can also damage our brain and other organs within minutes. With hypoxemia, a person’s breathing and heart rates might go up. A small device known as a pulse oximeter helps to measure how much oxygen is available in the blood. Normal levels range between 95% and 100%. A reading of 88% or below leads to hypoxemia.
Treatment
Your doctor may recommend the following treatments, depending on the severity of your symptoms:
Bronchodilators. By relaxing restricted airways, these medications can help reduce coughing, shortness of breath, and breathing issues.
Steroids inhaled: corticosteroid medications reduce inflammation and may aid in the relief of shortness of breath.
Antibiotics. Antibiotics are necessary if you have a bacterial infection, such as acute bronchitis or pneumonia.
Depending on the severity of your emphysema, your doctor may recommend one or more surgeries, such as:
surgery to reduce the size of the lungs. Surgeons remove small wedges of damaged lung tissue during this surgery. The damaged tissue is removed, which allows the remaining lung tissue to expand and perform more efficiently, improving breathing.
Transplantation of the lungs. If you have significant lung damage and all other procedures have failed, lung transplantation may be an option.
Conclusion
Patients suffering with emphysema are extremely rare, and in common emphysema is usually a component of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that affects about 24 million people in the USA. Chronic bronchitis refers to chronic mucus hypersecretion syndrome and in medicine is defined as a productive cough for at least 3 months in 2 successive years. Its pathohistological features generally involves the enlargement of the mucus-secreting glands situated in the bronchial wall, goblet cell metaplasia of the respiratory epithelium, infiltration of the bronchial mucosa along with lymphocytes, squamous metaplasia and dysplasia in the bronchial epithelium, increased bronchial smooth muscle, together with mucous plugging, inflammation, and fibrosis of the bronchioles. Here we come to an end of this topic. We hope that you were able to grasp a clear concept of the topic.