7 .- Aging Respiratory System:
Aging affects not only the physiological functions of the lungs, also the defense capacity.
The deterioration due to age in ventilation and gas distribution are due to alterations in chest wall compliance as the lung. With age the strength of respiratory muscles is reduced. There is also stiffness, loss of weight and volume, and that produces a partial filling. Exiate a reduced number of alveoli, and that causes dilation of the bronchioles and alveolar ducts. There are alterations in the lung parenchyma due to loss of the number and caliber of the interalveolar capillaries with decreased PO2, affecting pulmonary ventilation and alveolar-capillary diffusion.
The chest wall compliance decreases gradually with advancing age, probably due to the ossification of the costochondral joints, increased anteroposterior diameter of chest, kyphosis, and vertebral collapse.
Responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia decrease with age, which is why the elderly are more vulnerable to reduced oxygen levels.
There is a loss of effective cough reflex, this contributes to susceptibility to pneumonia, there is also a decrease in humoral and cellular immunity that facilitate infection. (more…)
Psychosocial Consideration old leads us to propose that 