Pulmonary Pathology Flashcards
What is the term for a type of COPD that involves small airway inflammation?
Respiratory bronchiolitis
To be diagnosed with chronic bronchitis for how long must you have had a cough productive of sputum for?
On most days for 3 months of at least 2 successive years
In chronic bronchitis, what cells increase in numbers?
Epithelial cells, especially goblet cells
What may generate functional obstruction in respiratory bronchiolitis?
Goblet cell metaplasia, macrophage accumulation and fibrosis around bronchioles
What is the name for an increase beyond the normal in the size of the airspaces distal to the terminal bronchiole?
Emphysema
What are the three types of emphysema?
Centriacinar (centrilobular)
Panacinar
Others (e.g. localised around scars in the lung)
In emphysema, what does the loss of elastic recoil and support of small airways lead to?
Tendency to collapse with obstruction
As emphysema advances the PaO2 decreases, what two clinical problems does this lead to?
- Dyspnoea and increased RR
2. Pulmonary vasoconstriction (and pulmonary hypertension)
What rare genetic condition is there a high rate of emphysema in?
Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency
What does anti-1-trypsin deficiency involve in its pathophysiology?
The protease/antiprotease hypothesis
Name enzymes which are produced by neutrophils and macrophages and can damage elastic tissue?
Elastases
What does alpha-1-antitrypsin act as?
Anti-elastase
What does tobacco smoke increase in the lung?
Number of macrophages and neutrophils
Increases neutrophil degranulation
What does tobacco smoke inhibit?
Alpha-1-antitrpysin
Give 4 pathology features of asthma
- Narrowed oedematous airways
- Mucus plugs
- Inflammatory cells (lymphocytes, plasma cells, eosinophils)
- Epithelial cell damage
