Last Updated on June 19, 2022 by Shabnam Sengupta
Tuberculosis appears in the upper lungs because the oxygen concentration is high at the apex of the lungs. The partial oxygen pressure is not the same throughout the lungs and is high at the apex of the lungs.
A (2022) research notes, “In a healthy individual, the V/Q ratio is 1 at the middle of the lung, with a minimal spread of V/Q ratios from 0.3 to 2.1 from base to apex. In cases of high V/Q ratios, PO2 increases and PCO2 decreases as alveolar air more closely matches the larger volume of inspired air than perfused blood”.
Another research in 2004 has shown that a ‘high oxygen pressure induces a higher bacillary growth than a low oxygen pressure’. This result is in alignment with the fact that the mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria that causes the disease is aerobic. So, this bacterium gets enough oxygen at the apex of the lungs to grow and multiply.
A (2007) research paper has shown that the upper lungs have low blood flow and less lymphatic density which makes the upper zone a disease-prone area. Another (2016) research has shown that there exist more reasons for low blood flow and lesser lymphatics in the upper lungs other than gravity.
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