Final answer:
Obstructive pulmonary diseases like asthma and COPD are characterized by not fully reversible airflow limitation, resulting in breathing difficulties. Unlike obstructive diseases, restrictive diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis and respiratory distress syndrome lead to stiff lung tissues and reduced lung compliance. These conditions ultimately alter breathing patterns by trapping air in the lungs or reducing the capacity to exhale air forcibly.
Step-by-step explanation:
A group of diseases characterized by the pathological limitation of airflow in the airway that is not fully reversible primarily refers to obstructive pulmonary diseases like asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory system where airways periodically become inflamed, causing swelling, narrowing of the airways, and making breathing difficult due to factors such as bronchospasms and excessive mucus secretion. COPD, which often results from long-term smoking, causes chronic poor airflow, leading to symptoms like shortness of breath and phlegm-filled cough, with alveoli losing their number and elasticity, thus impairing the ability to exhale fully.
Examples of restrictive diseases include respiratory distress syndrome and pulmonary fibrosis. Such conditions make the lung tissue stiff or fibrotic, leading to decreased lung compliance and causing intrapleural pressure to become more positive, which results in airway collapse upon exhalation and air being trapped inside the lungs. Unlike obstructive diseases, which have high lung volumes due to trapped air, restrictive diseases show a greatly reduced forced vital capacity (FVC), highlighting the diminished amount of air that can be forcibly exhaled.