Disorder Pulmonary Tuberculosis: Respiratory System
... an exhale. About 20 times a minute, inhale air and pass it through nasal passages where the air is filtered, heated, moistened and enters the back of the throat. It flows down through the windpipe, past the voice box or vocal cords, to where the lowermost ribs meet the center of chest. windpipe divides into two tubes which lead to the two lungs which fill most of ribcage. Inside each of sponge-like lungs, tubes, called bronchi, branch into even smaller tubes. At the end of these tubes are millions of tiny bubbles or sacs called alveoli. Air brings new oxygen from air you breathed to bloodstream. They exchange it for waste products, like carbon dioxide, which the cells in body have made and can't use. with the help of the red blood cells in bloodstream. ready to trade in old carbon dioxide that body's cells have made for some new oxygen you've just breathed in. In the process, these red blood cells turn from purple to red color as they start carrying the oxygen to all the cells in body. It goes through the lungs, back up windpipe and out with every exhale. This chemical exchange and breathing in and out. the brain does it automatically. Contributes to Homeostatic (TB Contributes to Homeostasis Imbalances) Respiration is one of the body’s stabilizing or homeostatic mechanisms. The respiratory system helps maintain a constant internal environment that keeps all of the body cells functioning effectively. It does this by supplying adequate oxygen and removing excess carbon dioxide. Slight changes in the oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels in the blood trigger processes that attempt to bring these levels back to normal. For example, if you exert yourself by running or climbing stairs, your heart rate and breathing will automatically increase. This is body’s response to an increased need for oxygen and an excess of carbon dioxide that must be eliminated. The harder your muscles work, the more oxygen they need and the more carbon dioxide they produce. By breathing faster, increase intake of oxygen and expel more carbon dioxide. A faster heart rate increases the speed of delivery of oxygen and the clearance of carbon dioxide. In other words, when you breathe more quickly and your heart beats faster because the body is attempting to bring oxygen and carbon dioxide levels back to normal. Survival depends on the body’s ability to respond to continuous changes in its environment. The body’s ability to respond to changes in its internal and external environments requires constant communication and interaction between the various organ systems of the body. Changes in the body trigger complex responses. Various body systems often work together to return the internal environment to a normal state. In addition to responding to the pH of the body, the kidneys also respond to prolonged decreases in body oxygen levels by increasing production of a hormone called erythropoietin. Increased erythropoietin leads to an increase in the production of red blood cells, the cells of the blood that carry oxygen. In this way, the kidneys try to help the body meet its oxygen needs by increasing the oxygen-carrying capability of the blood. Damage to lung tissues can reduce the respiratory system’s ability to respond adequately to changes in oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the body. This impaired capacity can lead to shortness of breath, dyspnea (uncomfortably difficult breathing), fatigue, dizziness, and other symptoms. Although these symptoms have other possible causes, they are common problems for people living with lung cancer. Breathing methods that are designed to help maximize the ability of the lungs to carry out the effective exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Tuberculosis of the lungs usually results in no or minimal symptoms in its early stages. In most persons the primary infection is contained by the body's immune system, and the lesion, called a tubercle, becomes calcified. In many the infection is permanently arrested. In others the disease may break out again and become active years later, usually when the body's immune defenses are low. Untreated, the infection can progress until large areas of the lung and other organs are destroyed. Pathology Associated with Disorder Tuberculosis (TB), contagious, wasting disease caused by any of several mycobacteriums. The most common form of the disease is tuberculosis of the lungs (pulmonary consumption, or phthisis), but the intestines, bones and joints, the skin, and the genitourinary, lymphatic, and nervous systems may also be affected. There are three major types of tubercle bacilli that affect humans. The human type (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), first identified in 1882 by Robert Koch is spread by people themselves. It is the most common one. The bovine type is spread by infected cattle but is no longer a threat in areas where pasteurization of milk and the health of cattle are strictly supervised. The avian type is carried by infected birds but can occur in humans. The tubercle bacillus can live for a considerable period of time in air or dust. The most common means of acquiring the disease is by inhalation of respiratory droplets. Tuberculosis can develop after inhaling droplets sprayed into the air from a cough or sneeze by someone infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The disease is characterized by the development of granulomas (granular tumors) in the infected tissues. Scattered tan granulomas are present, mostly in the upper lung fields. Some of the larger granulomas have central caseation. Granulomatous disease of the lung grossly appears as irregularly sized rounded nodules that are firm and tan. Larger nodules may have central necrosis known as caseation - a process of necrosis that includes elements of both liquefactive and coagulative necrosis). Clinical Sign and Symptoms: Symptoms of the disease include prolonged coughing (including coughing up of blood), sputum, bleeding from the lungs, fever, repeated night sweats, unexplained weight loss, weakness, loss of appetite, fever, chills, and general lethargy. TB is spread by an airborne germ; therefore, someone with TB can spread the germs by coughing, sneezing, laughing, or singing. Before a person will become infected. Touch or the sharing of utensils used by an infected person cannot spread TB germs. Sexual contact by itself cannot spread the germs, unless extra pulmonary tuberculosis of the genital organs is involved. Pulmonary TB develops in the minority of people whose immune systems do not successfully contain the primary infection. The disease may occur within weeks after the primary infection, or it may lie dormant for years before causing disease. Infants, the elderly, and individuals who are immunocompromised (for example, th...