Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD is characterized by interference with the process of taking in or expelling air during respiration. In asthma the smaller airways or bronchioli are constricted, so when the diaphragm rises and increases pressure on the lungs, that pressure closes the small airways, trapping the air in the lungs that should be exhaled.This naturally decreases how much new air can be inhaled. In emphysema the bronchial tubes are enlarged, giving insufficient space to smaller airways, with th same effect. In bronchitis the cause of constriction is inflammatory.