Managing chronic airflow obstruction: Part I

Abstract

The term "senile emphysema" has been largely abandoned. The lungs do, however, tend to lose their elastic recoil with age. The alveolar ducts enlarge, and the alveolar surface area decreases with age. Total lung capacity does not increase, but the residual volume and functional residual capacity do, with a concomitant decrease in vital capacity. The concern about lung cancer in these patients should be great, as the prevalence for that condition overlaps that of CAO. A routine chest roentgenograph and sputum samples for cytologic examination are the most commonly used techniques to diagnose lung cancer.