Respiratory diseases (Chapter 4)

Question 1

What is emphysema?

Answer 1

A disease usually caused by the long term exposure to irritating particles in the air taken into the lungs

Question 2

What is Asthma

Answer 2

A medical condition that causes difficulty breathing due to a narrowing of the airways

Question 3

What lifestyle increases your risk of getting these diseases?

Answer 3

Being a smoker massively increases your risk. Also people who work in situations where a lot of dust is produced.

Question 4

How are areas of the respiratory system affected by emphysema?

Answer 4

The irritating particles cause damage to the alveoli. They lose their elasticity, are often replaced by fibrous tissue, and may break down reducing the internal surface area of the lung

Because of the loss of elasticity in the lung tissue, breathing becomes very difficult as each breath requires voluntary effort. Thus the disease results in two problems; inadequate surface area for gas exchange, and difficulty in ventilating the lungs

Question 5

What happens during an asthma attack?

Answer 5

• the muscles surrounding the bronchioles going into a spasm, causing a narrowing of the air passages and so difficulty breathing.
• Inflammation causing the lining of the airway to thicken, narrowing it’s diameter
• Mucus filling the airway, narrowing the tube

Question 6

What is pneumonia?

Answer 6

An infection of the lungs caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi or other organisms.

Question 7

What is tuberculosis

Answer 7

An infection of the lung caused by the bacterium mycobacterium tuberculosis

Question 8

How are most lung infection spread?

Answer 8

they are spread by droplets. So when a person coughs, sneezes or spits, tiny droplets of moisture containing the bacteria, viruses or fungi may be inhaled by others.