The Mayo Clinic Diet Book, learn more

Free

E-newsletter

Subscribe to Housecall

Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.

Sign up now

Image

Emphysema

Illustration showing emphysema

In emphysema, inflammation and other processes damage the fibers around the walls of the airways and the alveoli, causing them to lose their natural elasticity and to collapse too much. This also causes destruction of the walls of the alveoli, creating relatively few large air spaces instead of many small ones. This reduces the surface area available for gas exchange.
IM04560

© 1998-2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

  • Print

  • Share on:

  • Email

Advertisement


Text Size: smaller largerlarger