Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: Coke1005 on 27/10/2011 03:11:36

Title: Where do carbon particles that accumulate in the lung due to smoking come from?
Post by: Coke1005 on 27/10/2011 03:11:36

Hi,

My grandfather has been smoking for over 20 years and has had a persistent cough. A biopsy of his lung tissue revealed considerable amounts of carbon particles. How could this happen considering the natural cleaning mechanism of the respiratory system?

Title: Re: Where do carbon particles that accumulate in the lung due to smoking come from?
Post by: CliffordK on 27/10/2011 09:35:05

As I understand it, the smoking actually inhibits the movement of the cilia inside of the lungs.  So, not only is the smoker giving their lungs an abnormally high dose of particulates to clear, but they are also damaging the mechanism used to clear out those particulates.

Furthermore, smokers tend to self-administer that dose of high particulates several times a day on a chronic basis.

It is hard to compare what is observed outside of the body to what is inside the body, but a "Smoker's Computer" is immediately recognizable due to a slimy, smelly brown coating over everything inside of it, and big clumps of sticky brown dust everywhere, especially around the fan and air circulation areas.  Non smoker's computers may have dust-balls inside, but these can easily be blown out.  Those in a smoker's computer need to be scrubbed out.  Often the walls and various surfaces in the smoker's house are also covered by this gunk. 

The moist environment inside the lungs is different than the dry environment inside of the computer.  But one has to wonder what that sticky stuff does inside of the body.

Title: Re: Where do carbon particles that accumulate in the lung due to smoking come from?
Post by: Coke1005 on 28/10/2011 01:17:19

Too much sticky tar to clean. I see. Thank you! [O8)]

Title: Re: Where do carbon particles that accumulate in the lung due to smoking come from?
Post by: chris on 06/08/2018 21:06:49

Relevant to this topic is an interesting interview I conducted recently on the role of black carbon in chest disease secondary to smoking (https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/how-carbon-alone-causes-lung-disease)...