Question

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Answer 1

Pulmonary Fibrosis

Pulmonary fibrosis is a respiratory disease in which scars are formed in the lung tissues, leading to serious breathing problems.

Mechanism:

Pulmonary fibrosis develops when the alveoli, tiny air sacs that transfer oxygen to the blood, become damaged and inflamed. The body tries to heal the damage with scars, but these scars collapse the alveoli and make the lungs less elastic. If the cycle of inflammation and scarring continues, the lungs become increasingly unable to deliver oxygen to the blood. Changes in the lungs can also increase the blood pressure in the pulmonary artery. This condition, called pulmonary hypertension, makes the heart work harder and it may fail.

How it affects respiratory system:

Scarring causes your lungs to become stiffer and less elastic so they are less able to move and take oxygen from the air you breathe.

If you have pulmonary fibrosis, scarring affects the air sacs in your lungs. The air sacs are supported by the interstitium, a network of tissue.Scarring fills in the gaps between and around the air sacs and limits the amount of oxygen that gets into the blood.

As scarring increases, your lungs are less able to expand to allow you to take deep breaths and the level of oxygen in your blood can start to drop. Breathing may feel like harder work and you can feel breathless from everyday activities like walking.