70 Yr old woman has developed viral lung infection. She's developed symptoms of pneumonia including a wheezy wet cough and fast and shallow breathing upon moving somewhere with higher elevation.
Moving to a place with higher elevation means less oxygen in the air giving her a harder time to breath, due to her age and declining immune system also leaving her vulnerable to infection
Years of living in a city and inhaling air pollutants begin to affect her respiratory health
The lungs are located in the thoracic cavity and it's main function is the process of gas exchange or in other words respiration. In with oxygen and out with carbon dioxide.
The lungs are a pair of spongy, air-filled organs located on either side of the chest cavity.
The Diaphragm is a muscle under the lungs which aids in respiration by contracting during inspiration
The trachea conducts air into the lungs through the bronchi which are tubular branches.
Once inside the lungs the bronchi branch out and continue to do so until they become microscopic throughout the lung supplying air. They're called bronchioles at this point.
Bronchioles supply microscopic airs sacs with oxygen, called alveoli. Alveoli allow oxygen and carbon dioxide into our blood
The main function of the lungs is to perform the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide with air from the atmosphere.
Alveoli function to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide from the bloodstream (CO2 is expelled from body). Are found in clusters throughout the lung to work effectively.
Partial Pressure is pressure exerted by a single component of a mixture of gases.
Higher altitudes decreases partial pressure which in turn decreases the amount of oxygen the lungs are able to intake; affecting breathing
Inflammation of the lungs hinders oxygen transport difficult resulting in chest pains making breathing painful and harder.
Fick's Law states that the rate of diffusion of a gas across a permeable membrane is determined by the chemical nature of the membrane, the surface area of the membrane, the partial pressure gradient of the gas across the membrane, and the thickness of the membrane
Fluid is building up in lungs
Pleural Effusion develops causing sharp pains, difficulty breathing (fast breaths), and shallow breaths.
If left untreated it can cause a lung to collapse and/or other serious respiratory issues.
Pneumonia develops with symptoms of a wet cough , fever, sharp stabbing pains in chest.
A pneumonia infection can spread from the lungs into the bloodstream affecting the cardiovascular system.
It can reach other organs causing severe or permanent damage, and can also lead to death