Respiratory System Essay, Research Paper

Emphysema-Emphysema is a disease that causes the alveoli (the tiny air sacs where the air meets the blood in your lungs) not to work properly. This means not as much oxygen can get into the blood of the person, and it makes breathing difficult. Because the blood isn’t getting as much oxygen as it is supposed to, the body cells aren’t getting the oxygen they need to release the energy in food. A person with emphysema can’t exercise at all, because the lungs aren’t able to supply enough oxygen. A person with severe emphysema can’t even go for a walk without running out of breath.

Asthma-Asthma is an illness where the cells lining the insides of the bronchial tubes (the tubes going into the lungs) swell up and not enough air can get into the lungs. Lots of things can set off an asthma attack, like cigarette smoke, some drugs, and infections like colds and the flu. There is no cure for asthma, but attacks can be prevented by avoiding the things that set them off like smoke, pets, or dust. There are also some medications that can be taken that cause the bronchial tubes to loosen up. It is possible to live quite happily with asthma, and many people in the world do.

Lung Cancer- Lung cancer is when damaged cells in your lungs grow out of control. The bad cells also known as (cancer) get bigger and bigger until they crowd out and kill the healthy cells in your lungs. This makes it very painful and difficult to breathe, and it can even kill you. One of the major causes for lung cancer is cigarette smoke. In fact, 8 out of 10 lung cancer victims are smokers. Smoke from cigarettes has things called carcinogens in it, that can make healthy cells become cancer cells. There are also some carcinogens in polluted air. Polluted air can come from anywhere cars, factories, or even places in your house.

Tuberculosis- Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by a germ in the air. The germs come from people who are already infected with TB. Once you breathe in the germs, two things can happen. The first thing is that you might get sick right away. The other thing that can happen is that your body is strong enough to fight the germs, but not strong enough to kill them. The germs get covered in capsules by your body, and can remain there for many years. If your body ever gets weak from another infection or if you’re not eating right, then the germs can break out of their capsules and hurt your body.

Bibliography

1998 corespondence with encara @ www.encarta.com pay sites only