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SR Vol.47 [2010] >
SR Vol.47(05) [May 2010] >
| Title: | Asphyxiating Asthma |
| Authors: | Chawla, P Cheena |
| Issue Date: | May-2010 |
| Publisher: | CSIR |
| Abstract: | Staying away from stimuli that trigger an asthma
attack, knowing the warning signs and timely medication are crucial to control
asthma.
JUST imagine the human body
without the in and out rhythmic flow of breath. It is only at death that the
breath and the body separate.It is this constant alternate breathing in of
oxygen and breathing out of carbon dioxide that keeps us alive. But this
process of breathing is compromised in about 300 million people worldwide who
suffer from asthma, as the flow of air through their lungs is obstructed.The inhaled oxygen reaches the lung through the windpipe/trachea,
which divides into two large tubes or bronchi, one for each lung. Each bronchus
further divides into millions of thin, tiny air passages called bronchial tubes
through which the inhaled oxygen passes before it reaches the round structures,
present at their tips, called the air sacs or alveoli. These airways become
smaller and narrower as they get deeper into the lungs, just like the branches
of a tree that are smaller and narrower than the tree trunk. It is in the alveoli that the exchange of
gases occurs, as the inhaled oxygen gets into our bloodstream through the rich
capillary network surrounding the alveoli, while carbon dioxide — a by-product
of cellular metabolism — passes into the air passages, through the capillary
network around alveoli, to be exhaled out through the nostrils. |
| Page(s): | 35-38 |
| ISSN: | 0036-8512 |
| Source: | SR Vol.47(05) [May 2010]
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