Pulmonary
Fibrosis…read more

What is Pulmonary
Fibrosis?
Pulmonary fibrosis appears when scars
form on the epithelium of the lungs, causing
them to become irreversibly thickened. To
diffuse gases like carbon dioxide and
oxygen, the lining of the alveoli need to be
thin. It follows that, in patients with
fibrosis, oxygen cannot diffuse into the
blood as well because the diffusion
pathway has been considerably lengthened
and the volume of the air that the lungs can
contain has been reduced.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?…read more

Caus
es
Pulmonary fibrosis scars and thickens the tissue
around and between the air sacs (alveoli) in your
lungs. This makes it more difficult for oxygen to
pass into your bloodstream.
Many drugs can damage your lungs,
especially Chemotherapy drugs, Heart
medications and some antibiotics.
Lung damage can also result from
Tuberculosis and Pneumonia.…read more

Sympto
ms
Shortness of breath (especially
during exercise)
Pain and discomfort in the
chest Weakness and
Chronic, dry
fatigue
coughepithelium of the alveoli
The thickened
means that the diffusion pathway is
increased. This decreases the rate of
diffusion.
The loss of elasticity makes ventilating the
lungs very difficult, which makes it harder
to maintain a diffusion gradient.…read more

Treatm
ent
Lung transplantation is a treatment
option for selected patients. Lung
transplant improves long-term survival
rate.
Corticosteroids may be indicated for specific
diagnoses.
Other immunosuppressive may have a role in
specific cases.
Although many studies have been performed
looking at the use of anti-inflammatory
agents such as steroids, when used in studies
which looked at only patients with a secure
diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
(IPF), there is currently no drug proven to…read more

Qui
1) What does scaring on the epithelium of the lungs cause
to happen?
z
- Thickening of the lungs
2) What is pulmonary fibrosis with no known cause called?
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
3) What does the thickened epithelium of the alveoli
decrease?
- Rate of diffusion
4) Ventilation of the lungs is made very difficult by loss of
what?
- Elasticity
5) What creates and obstruction of the airway of the
lungs?
- Fibrosis tissue
6) What causes pain and discomfort in the chest?
- Pressure
7) Weakness and fatigue results from the reduced intake of
what?
- Oxygen
8) What treatment improves long term survival rate?…read more