Your Aunt Mary has recently been diagnosed with emphysema.

You are going to be attending a family function in the near future, and you think that some of your relatives will ask you the meaning of medical terms that they have heard or read about emphysema. Instructions What terms do you think they might ask you about? Consider terms related to diagnosis, treatment, and research findings. Identify at least 5 medical terms, and describe what they mean. Why did you select the terms you did?

If you are attending a family function, there are several medical terms that you would want to be aware of, related to emphysema, to be prepared to discuss and explain to your family members. The first medical term to be aware of would be alveoli. This is an anatomical term that describes the air sacs that are small and microscopic that are at the ends of the lungs. Oxygen is able to diffuse into our blood stream through these alveolis. When you have emphysema, these alveoli break down and area destroyed. This leads to the decreased ability of your lungs to transport oxygen to the body. A second term to be aware of related to emphysema is bronchitis. These two are very frequently associated with each other. This is an inflammation of the bronchi which are the passageways between the alveoli, described above, and the trachea. An irritation in this area will lead to a build up of phlegm which can be really annoying and discomforting, especially for the emphysema patient. There are other ways that people get bronchitis, but emphysema frequently leads to it. A third term to be aware of is elasticity. This is the ability of the lungs to expand and contract during the process of breathing. Lungs need to be able to expand when you inhale and contract during exhaling. People, such as your Aunt Mary, with emphysema have a breakdown in their lung structure and this deteriorates the elasticity of the lungs. This makes it harder for the patient to both inhale and exhale and every breath now takes work and effort as opposed to being automatic by the body. A fourth term to be aware of it spirometry. These are the series of tests that are done by a medical practitioner to asses the capacity of the lung functions. It is also called a lung function test where the patient is put onto a measure that measures the amount of air they are able to inhale and exhale while breathing. It measures not only the amount of air but also the speed and force. This allows the medical doctor to assess the current state of the lungs of a person with emphysema.

A fifth term to be aware of it Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, also known as COPD. This is a collection of disorders that make it difficult to breathe and compound the issues related to a person suffering from emphysema. It is one of the major causes of COPD and many with emphysema suffer from COPD. The terms above were selected from the different readings related to emphysema. They are ones that a person will come across when discussing or talking with someone who has emphysema. Most of these are not common terms that the average person is going to be aware of so it is a good idea to have an idea of these terms before the family gathering.