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Almost any type of lung tumor or lung cancer can compress the alveoli and reduce gas exchange capacity. In some cases the tumor will fill the alveoli. [33] Cavitary pneumonia is a process in which the alveoli are destroyed and produce a cavity. As the alveoli are destroyed, the surface area for gas exchange to occur becomes reduced.
The alveoli are tiny air sacs in the lungs where gas exchange takes place. The mean number of alveoli in a human lung is 480 million. [11] When the diaphragm contracts, a negative pressure is generated in the thorax and air rushes in to fill the cavity. When that happens, these sacs fill with air, making the lung expand.
Diffuse alveolar damage (DAD): an acute lung condition with the presence of hyaline membranes. [2] These hyaline membranes are made up of dead cells, surfactant, and proteins. [1] The hyaline membranes deposit along the walls of the alveoli, where gas exchange typically occurs, thereby making gas exchange difficult.
The tendency for the alveoli to collapse is therefore almost the same at the end of exhalation as at the end of inhalation. Thirdly, the surface tension of the curved watery layer lining the alveoli tends to draw water from the lung tissues into the alveoli. Surfactant reduces this danger to negligible levels, and keeps the alveoli dry. [6] [37]
The zones of the lung divide the lung into four vertical regions, based upon the relationship between the pressure in the alveoli (PA), in the arteries (Pa), in the veins (Pv) and the pulmonary interstitial pressure (Pi):
Alveoli are the functional units of the lungs. Alveolar lung diseases are classified as processes that affect these units that ultimately lead to issues with ventilation. There are a number of different causes of insult to the alveoli including build up of fluid, hemorrhage, infection, malignancy and build up of protein and mineral deposi
Atelectasis is the partial collapse or closure of a lung resulting in reduced or absence in gas exchange. It is usually unilateral, affecting part or all of one lung. [2] It is a condition where the alveoli are deflated down to little or no volume, as distinct from pulmonary consolidation, in which they are filled with liquid.
An alveolus (plural: alveoli, from Latin alveus, "little cavity"), is an anatomical structure that has the form of a hollow cavity. Mainly found in the lung, the pulmonary alveoli are spherical outcroppings of the respiratory bronchioles and are the primary sites of gas exchange with the blood.