These medical condition or symptom topics may be relevant to medical information for Smoker’s emphysema:
Smoker’s emphysema: Type of or association with medical condition Emphysema.
»Introduction: Emphysema
Smoker’s emphysema: Smoker’s emphysema is listed as a type of (or associated with) the following medical conditions in our database:
Emphysema (medical condition): Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is defined as an abnormal, permanent enlargement of the air spaces distal to the terminal bronchioles accompanied by destruction of their walls and without obvious fibrosis.
Emphysema (medical condition): Emphysema is a chronic, ongoing, progressive disease of the lower respiratory tract in the lungs. It is one type of or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The hallmark of emphysema is difficulty with breathing that slowly gets worse over time. It is a seriously disabling disease with the potential for major complications and is often eventually fatal. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, emphysema/COPD is a major cause of disability, and it's the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.
The disease develops most often as a result of smoking, but can also occur from long-term inhalation of other irritants into the lungs and rarely, and rarely due to hereditary factors. Emphysema most often develops when irritants are breathed into the respiratory tract and into the bronchioles, small hollow passageways that branch off the main airway from the mouth and nose. Normally, air and needed oxygen pass through the bronchioles into the alveoli, tiny hollow sack-like structures in the lungs where oxygen is absorbed in to the bloodstream. When air is mixed with smoke or irritants, it can damage the lungs and their ability to take in enough oxygen. Long-term inhalation of irritants results in a loss of elasticity in the bronchioles and alveoli, destruction of the walls between alveoli. The longer the lungs are exposed to smoke or irritants, the more likely it is that you will develop emphysema. Emphysema is usually diagnosed in middle-age or elderly people, but it can happen younger in life. It is also more common in men than women.
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