AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Smoking is the main cause of emphysema. Cigarette smoke destroys your lung tissue, and it also irritates your airways. Cigarette smoke causes inflammation and damages your cilia. Irritation and damaged cilia cause swollen airways, mucus production and difficulty clearing your airways.

Detailed explanation-2: -In people with emphysema, the air sacs in the lungs (alveoli) are damaged. Over time, the inner walls of the air sacs weaken and rupture-creating larger air spaces instead of many small ones. This reduces the surface area of the lungs and, in turn, the amount of oxygen that reaches your bloodstream.

Detailed explanation-3: -Oxygen moves to the blood through capillaries that line the alveolar walls. The poisons in tobacco smoke irritate tender tissue in the bronchioles and alveoli and damage the lining of the lungs. Chronic inflammation from smoking leaves the lining of the lungs scarred.

Detailed explanation-4: -Emphysema develops over time and involves the gradual damage of lung tissue, specifically the destruction of the alveoli (tiny air sacs). Gradually, this damage causes the air sacs to rupture and create one big air pocket instead of many small ones.