What would you typically expect to find in a patient with emphysema?

In a patient with emphysema, you would typically expect to find increased residual volume and decreased elasticity in the lungs. Emphysema, a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is characterized by damage to the alveoli, leading to their enlargement and a reduction in the surface area available for gas exchange. This damage results in decreased elastic recoil of the lung tissue.

With the destruction of alveolar walls, the lungs lose their ability to effectively expel air, causing air to become trapped in the lungs, which leads to an increase in residual volume. The decreased elasticity means that the lungs are less able to return to their original size after being inflated, further contributing to the trapping of air and the overall increase in lung volumes, especially in the context of residual volume. Consequently, this impacts the efficiency of gas exchange because the remaining healthy alveoli struggle to accommodate for the impaired function of the damaged ones.

Overall, recognizing these physiological changes in emphysema is critical for understanding the challenges patients face, including shortness of breath, reduced exercise tolerance, and other respiratory complications.