Addiction Nicotine Use Smoking-Related Diseases This Is What COPD Looks Like in the Lungs COPD Images and Image Galleries By Terry Martin facebook twitter Terry Martin quit smoking after 26 years and is now an advocate for those seeking freedom from nicotine addiction. Learn about our editorial process Terry Martin Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Sanja Jelic, MD on October 26, 2015 Sanja Jelic, MD, is board-certified in sleep medicine, critical care medicine, pulmonary disease, and internal medicine. Learn about our Review Board Sanja Jelic, MD Updated on February 12, 2020 Print COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary, disease is a blanket term used to describe both chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Usually caused by cigarette smoking, these diseases can on occasion occur due to external environmental factors. The images and gallery links below show healthy lungs and lungs that have become diseased due to COPD. 1 Illustration of Chronic Bronchitis This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing. See Photo Stocktrek Images / Getty Images The bronchial tubes are the large airways that branch off of the trachea bringing air into and out of the lungs. Bronchitis is a condition where a heavy lining of mucus forms on the inside of the bronchial tubes, usually from an irritant, like cigarette smoke. Bronchitis can also be triggered by an infection brought on by a cold. Smokers are prone to having colds develop into bronchitis because their delicate bronchial tissues are already compromised from cigarette smoke. Also known as a "chest cold", this type of bronchitis is considered acute. For long-term smokers, bronchitis can become a chronic condition lasting for years or life where this inflammation is always present (because cigarettes smoke is always present). This illustration shows a build-up of inflammation that occurs in the mucus membrane that lines the bronchial tubes in a person with chronic bronchitis. Symptoms of chronic bronchitis are a cough that often produces phlegm and feelings of breathlessness due to constricted airways. How Are Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema Different? 2 Illustration of Damaged Alveoli (Emphysema) Dorling Kindersley/Getty Images People with emphysema have a severely diminished ability to breathe because the alveoli in their lungs have become damaged. Alveoli are very tiny air pockets or sacs that are at the ends of the airways in our lungs. Alveoli sacs take oxygen from the air we breathe in and pass it through to the bloodstream. The waste gas, carbon dioxide exits via the alveoli when we exhale. Over time, the toxins in cigarette smoke break down the walls between these tiny little air pockets, creating bigger air sacs instead. This is bad for breathing, because bigger sacs mean less surface area for the gas/blood exchange. People with emphysema are not able to get enough oxygen out of the air they breathe, which is why they often have to supplement it with bottled air. Emphysema is not a curable disease, but its progression can be slowed or even stopped if one quits smoking soon enough. What Is Emphysema? 3 Picture of Normal Human (Left) Lung This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing. See Photo Matt Meadows / Photolibrary / Getty Images A normal human lung is pink and spongy, filled with an intricate system of airways and thousands of tiny aveoli sacs. 4 Picture of Emphysema Human (Right) Lung This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing. See Photo Matt Meadows / Photolibrary / Getty Images This image shows a right human lung with emphysema and blackened by tar, which is a residue left behind from the chemicals in cigarette smoke. Cigarette Tar Carries the Most Toxins 5 The Respiratory System Image Gallery Science Photo Library - PIXOLOGICSTUDIO/Getty Images In order to see how COPD impairs lung function, it helps to understand how the lungs function and what they look like when they're healthy. Take a tour of the human respiratory system in this image gallery. 6 COPD Complications Image Gallery PIXOLOGICSTUDIO/Getty Images The diseases that fall under the umbrella of COPD are reviewed in this image gallery. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Quit Smoking Now For the most part, COPD is a smoker's disease and is preventable if you stop smoking soon enough. And, while smoking cessation is hard work initially for most people, the discomforts are temporary. Lasting release from nicotine addiction is possible and worth the work it takes to achieve. Quit now. How to Quit Smoking for Good Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! So you're ready to finally quit smoking? Our free guide can help you get on the right track. Sign up and get yours today. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Kim V, Criner GJ. Chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2013;187(3):228-237. doi:10.1164/rccm.201210-1843CI Pelkonen M. Smoking: relationship to chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and mortality. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2008;14(2):105-109. doi:10.1097/MCP.0b013e3282f379e9 Mejza F, Nastałek P, Doniec Z, Skucha W. Symptoms of chronic bronchitis in individuals without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: prevalence, burden, and risk factors in southern Poland. Pol Arch Intern Med. 2018;128(11):677-684. doi:10.20452/pamw.4347 Sharafkhaneh A, Hanania NA, Kim V. Pathogenesis of emphysema: from the bench to the bedside. Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2008;5(4):475-477. doi:10.1513/pats.200708-126ET