A 62-year-old smoker named Lynn was admitted at the hospital. After tests , her

Question

A 62-year-old smoker named Lynn was admitted at the hospital. After tests , her physician has diagnosed her as having emphysema. This particular condition which apparently she has had for a while   has caused her to hypoventilate. Surprisingly, when her blood pH is checked, it is 7.40.

1. Explain why Emphysema has been causing her HYPOVENTILATION

2. What pH one would expect to find due to Hypoventilation?

3. Explain why that pH you wrote in 2 would be expected and how is it connected to the emphysema?

4.Based on 2 and 3 a pH 7.4 is a surprise. So , what is the role of the KIDNEYS in this chronic condition ( or how are the KIDNEYS helping keep his pH at 7.4)

Explanation / Answer

Emphysema or Pneumatosis   is a disease of lungs characterized with the abnormal presence of air or other gas within tissues of the lungs. Emphysema is caused by smoking and it is one of the disease which leads to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It occurs when the alveoli in the lungs break down from many sacs to form much bigger sacs. Oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange into and out of the blood takes place in the alveoli of the lungs. The air gets trapped inside the broken alveoli due to the collapse of the walls that’s the reason why emphysema is causing her Hypoventilation Due to hypoventilation the blood pH decreases from the normal blood pH which is 7.35 and causes acidosis. Emphysema causes Hypoventilation in the lungs which increases the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood and decreases the blood's pH generally called as acidosis. When there is acidosis in the body, kidneys excretes more acid into the urine and absorb more bicarbonate back into the body to regulate pH of the blood.

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