In 1945, when Allied forces liberated the concentration camps at Dachau, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald, Sachsenhausen, Auschwitz and elsewhere, the world was shocked at the sight of images of dead bodies alongside half-dead people in these camps.
Emphysema results when the delicate linings of the air sacs in the lungs become damaged beyond repair. Most commonly, the toxins in cigarette smoke create the damage. The lung changes of emphysema evolve slowly over years: 1  As the fragile tissues between air sacs are destroyed, air pockets in the lungs develop. 2  Air becomes trapped in these spaces of damaged lung tissue. 3  The lungs slowly enlarge, and breathing requires more effort.
This is how are lungs operate. Inside our bodies, at the base of our lungs there is a membrane called the diaphragm. When you inhale, your diaphragm contracts and flattens out, increasing the volume and decreasing the pressure in your chest. Because you have more room air gets sucked in through your mouth and nose and into your lungs, just like it did in the balloon, and then your lungs fill with air.