PCL week 4: pathophysiology of asthma

• The airways are tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs. People who have asthma have inflamed airways.

• When the airways react, the muscles around them tighten. This causes the airways to narrow, and less air flows to your lungs

• The inflammation will activate the release of mast cells, eosinophils and macrophages in the airway. These substances increase the amount of mucus secretion presidents in the airways.

• Combined with the inflammation is the increased mucus production caused by the body’s response to the allergen inside the lungs.

• This complex interaction between inflammatory cells, mediators and tissues in the airway cause injury to the epithelium and prolonged contraction of the smooth muscle.

• Leads to the narrowing of the arteries and less air flow to the lungs.

• The lungs continue to secrete mucus, swell and change the involuntary control of breathing.

• These inflamed airways become more narrow and obstructed which causes hyperresponsiveness and results in narrowing when the stimulus is introduced.