Guide To The Causes And Risk Factors Of Atelectasis

Tumor In The Airway

Some cases of atelectasis are caused by a tumor in the airway of an affected individual. The type of atelectasis is described using the term compressive atelectasis, which can be the result of a cancerous or benign tumor or growth inside of, or directly adjacent to, airways within the lung. When a tumor grows in an individual's lung and slowly causes the compression of one or more of its containing airways, the balance of gas exchange in the alveoli will be disrupted. Healthy individuals breathe oxygen and nitrogen into the trachea, through the bronchi and the further branched off bronchioles, then into the alveoli. The blood in small capillaries in the alveoli absorbs the oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. When there is a tumor or growth inside of, or adjacent to, one of the airways in the lung, it will slowly start to close up. As the airway becomes increasingly narrow, the amount of inhaled air that reaches the following alveoli will be less than the amount of air the blood is absorbing. Eventually, the alveoli do not have enough air and ultimately collapse in on themselves. This type of atelectasis gradually develops over time as numerous alveoli collapse, and the lung loses its volume.

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