(Withers, 2009)
There are various pathological changes to the respiratory system of a smoker. One extremely widespread change is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
The World Health Organisation (2010) define COPD as, “…a lung disease characterized by chronic obstruction of lung airflow that interferes with normal breathing and is not fully reversible.” COPD as a lung disease encompasses pathological changes such as Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema.
Chronic Bronchitis is long term inflammation of the main bronchi, which instigates coughing mucus over a long length of time (John Hopkins Medicine, n.d.). The main physiological reason for this pathological change is due to the acidity and chemicals in a cigarette. The lining of the bronchioles and bronchi are irritated, make worse by each cigarette smoked (ADPI, 2013) …show more content…
Tar in tobacco greatly increase the chance of developing emphysema.
In a health person, gaseous exchange occurs within the alveoli (as seen in the diagram above) at a capillary level. Oxygen and CO2 simultaneously move between the sacs, to the capillaries. They are elastic and moist, to allow frictionless movement when breathing moving.
(Healthline, 2012) have quantified that a smokers lungs are damaged in such a way that gaseous exchange and air flow is affected by: “stiffening of air sacs, degradation of wall between air sacs, thickening and inflammation of air pathway walls and increasing mucus in the air pathways, causing build-up and air obstruction.”
Here is a photo representation of damage to the
There are various pathological changes to the respiratory system of a smoker. One extremely widespread change is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
The World Health Organisation (2010) define COPD as, “…a lung disease characterized by chronic obstruction of lung airflow that interferes with normal breathing and is not fully reversible.” COPD as a lung disease encompasses pathological changes such as Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema.
Chronic Bronchitis is long term inflammation of the main bronchi, which instigates coughing mucus over a long length of time (John Hopkins Medicine, n.d.). The main physiological reason for this pathological change is due to the acidity and chemicals in a cigarette. The lining of the bronchioles and bronchi are irritated, make worse by each cigarette smoked (ADPI, 2013) …show more content…
Tar in tobacco greatly increase the chance of developing emphysema.
In a health person, gaseous exchange occurs within the alveoli (as seen in the diagram above) at a capillary level. Oxygen and CO2 simultaneously move between the sacs, to the capillaries. They are elastic and moist, to allow frictionless movement when breathing moving.
(Healthline, 2012) have quantified that a smokers lungs are damaged in such a way that gaseous exchange and air flow is affected by: “stiffening of air sacs, degradation of wall between air sacs, thickening and inflammation of air pathway walls and increasing mucus in the air pathways, causing build-up and air obstruction.”
Here is a photo representation of damage to the