emphysema

• caused by long term exposure to irritating particles in the air being taken into the lungs
• smoking, working in environment with a lot of dust and living in places with high air pollution can cause emphysema
• damages alveoli as they loose their elasticity, replacing it with fibrous tissue and they may break down, reducing the internal surface area of the lungs
• people with emphysema have lungs that are constantly inflated, meaning exhaling is no longer a passive process and require voluntary effort
• difficulty ventilating lungs, inadequate surface area for gas exchange