The client with emphysema should be educated about changes in lung tissue that may include which of the following changes? Select all that apply

Question

A) Loss of elastic recoil
B) Difficulty exhaling due to inability to recoil
C) Increased lung compliance
D) Increased permeability to water
E) Stiff elastin fibers

Answer 1

Ans: A, B, C
Feedback:
The elastic properties of the lung involve at least three basic components: distensibility, stiffness, and elastic recoil. Distensibility is the ease with which the lungs can be inflated. Stiffness is defined as the resistance to stretch or inflation. In lung diseases such as interstitial lung disease and pulmonary fibrosis, the lungs become stiff and noncompliant as the elastin fibers are replaced with the collagen fibers of scar tissue. Overstretching lung tissues, as occurs with emphysema, causes the elastic components of the lung to lose their recoil, making the lung more compliant and easier to inflate but more difficult to deflate because of its inability to recoil.