[arvin_infinity]

Why do we have wheezing and shortness of breath for Emphysema?

Why does emphysema increase the rate of breath in individuals?!

What does cause reduction of surface area in emphysema?!

Thanks in advance. My teacher just bul****s ..he couldnt answer them tbh

[Joinedup]

does it say wikipedia at the top of the page?

[TheWonderKid]

(Original post by arvin_infinity)
Why do we have wheezing and shortness of breath for Emphysema?

Why does emphysema increase the rate of breath in individuals?!

What does cause reduction of surface area in emphysema?!

Thanks in advance. My teacher just bul****s ..he couldnt answer them tbh

It increases rate of breathing because the alveolar surface area has been decreased (due to destruction of alveoli walls. That's what causes reduction of surface area i think) which means that the oxygen levels in blood also decrease. Sufferers of emphysema try to increase the level of oxygen in blood by breathing faster to increase oxygen supply.

Shortness of breath comes from difficulty in exhaling air due to loss of elastin in lungs.

Hopefully i've answered a couple of your questions and hope it helps a little.

[Waqar Y]

If i can remember right, emphysema is caused by the reduction in surface area of the alveloli, as they're walls have been damaged. Which means that oxygen transport is reduced.

Why do we have wheezing and shortness of breath for Emphysema?

Because your unable to take in enough oxygen

Why does emphysema increase the rate of breath in individuals?!

Because you need to breathe more to increase the oxygen demands of the body, as your getting less oxygen then if you didn't have emphysema.

What does cause reduction of surface area in emphysema?!

Damage of the alveoli walls, this reduces the surface area for oxygen exchange? I think

Hope I helped, I'd double check this though.. :|

[Revenged]

the patient has hyperexpanded lungs and it is more difficult to breath in and so people take lighter and faster breaths. they would usually only get short of breath on activity and in its worse stages you require continuous oxygen. an exaccerbation such as infection can cause respiratory failure.

pure emphysema is only caused by a rare enzyme deficiency, alpha 1 antitryspin. the term chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is used and refers to emphysema and chronic bronchitis that you see in smokers. HTH

[Revenged]

a wheeze is a forced expiration against resistance. you get it in smokers because of the bronchi are inflammed and this is the bronchitis part of COPD, not the emphysema part, so you probably do not get wheeze in pure emphysema case.

you can often hear audible wheeze very clearly but if you listen to a person with COPD or asthma with a stethoscope you often only hear reduced breath sounds because they have these hyperexpanded lungs full of air. HTH

[Revenged]

here is a better explanation:

http://pathlabmed.typepad.com/surgic...e-bloater.html