Download cystic fibrosis case study

Babi 1
Melanie Babi
Mrs. Schultz
Anatomy and Physiology
11 December 2012
Part III – Explanation of Sam’s Condition
1. Sam is suffering from the disease Cystic Fibrosis. This is an inherited chronic disease,
mean that it is passed down genetically from parent to their children. It is an Autosomal
Recessive disease so people who have it inherited two recessive genes from each of their
parents who were both carries for the disease. Some symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis are
frequent lung infections, salty skin, wheezing, greasy stool and poor weight gain.
2. Cystic Fibrosis affects the lungs, pancreas, liver, gallbladder, intestines, sinuses, sex
organs and the epithelial tissue (simple squamous, psuedostratified columnar and simple
columnar) which line those organs. People who do not have CF produce thin and watery
mucus that lubricates organs and helps provides protection from infection. However,
people who do have the disease produce very thick mucus that does not move easily. It
builds up in your lungs and blocks airways, making it difficult to breath. This build up of
mucus is a viable place for bacteria to grow, which is why people who have Cystic
Fibrosis have constant lung infections. In the pancreas, digestive enzymes are produced
which then move to the intestines. The pancreas also secretes mucus and when there is a
heavy buildup of mucus, the path between the pancreas and the intestines are blocked and
the enzymes are unable to get out. For this reason, digestion in CF patients is difficult and
they are unable to receive the nutrients that they need which causes vitamin deficiency
and malnutrition. Thickened secretions of mucus sometimes clog up the bile ducts of the
Babi 1
liver and gallbladder, and bile is essential to the digestion of fats and to the neutralization
of acidic components of digestion. Men who have CF are almost always infertile because
the build up of mucus in the sperm canal prevents sperm from getting out. Women are
able to conceive but have decreased fertility due to cervical mucus that prevents sperm
entry. People with Cystic Fibrosis usually have sinus infections due to the buildup of
bacteria and sinusitis which is inflamed nasal sinuses.
3.
http://www.medicinenet.com/cystic_fibrosis/page2.htm#what_is_cystic_fibrosis
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/cystic_fibrosis/hic_cystic_fibrosis.aspx
http://cysticfibrosis.about.com/od/cysticfibrosis101/a/organs.htm
http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/digestive/cystic_fibrosis.html