Question

lauren is a senior at a nearby high school. she is a good student who does her work on weekdays and likes to party on the weekends with her friends. a few months ago, lauren developed a persistent cough that has worsened over time. she has also had trouble breathing over the past week or so. her parents decided it was time she see a doctor and made an appointment with the family physician. lauren arrived at the doctor's office the following day. the doctor asked her a number of questions about her health history and daily habits, including, whether or not she smoked cigarettes. lauren responded that she started smoking cigarettes (about 2 per day) her freshman year of high school and does not intend to quit anytime soon. the doctor decided it was necessary to take a biopsy of the cells that line the bronchus (passageway to the lungs). after several days, the biopsy report has come back along with a micrograph of the bronchial cells. lauren's cigarette smoking has badly damaged these organelles which are responsible for mucous and dirt moving up-and-out of her respiratory system. analyze the micrograph below and determine what cell organelles have been damaged.

Answer 1

The cilia are damaged.

If the cilia are damaged, the mucous and dirt do not come out of the lungs leading to clogging of the bronchia. Lauren’s smoking habit has damaged her cilia and thus had trouble breathing. The bronchi of the lung are lined with cilia.

Cilia are tiny hair-like projections that keep the airways clean by sweeping away mucus and dust particles and keeping the lungs clear. When cilia do not work, the air passage gets clogged with dust and dirt, which causes trouble breathing. Hope this helps!