Question

With increase in age which of the following is true for lungs?

• A. Pulmonary compliance increases
• B. Residual volume decreases
• C. Mucocillary clearance increases
• D. Fibrous of interstitium dreaseses

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Start with what aging does to lung elastic tissue. The elastic fibres degrade and the alveolar air spaces widen, so the lung pushes back less when stretched.
Step 2: A lung with weaker recoil inflates more readily for a given pressure, which by definition means higher compliance. So pulmonary compliance rises in the elderly.
Step 3: The same loss of recoil traps air, pushing residual volume and functional residual capacity up rather than down, which knocks out the option claiming residual volume falls.
Step 4: Aging also blunts mucociliary clearance, weakening airway clearance instead of improving it, and the interstitial connective tissue does not melt away. So the only correct statement is the rise in lung compliance. \[\boxed{\text{Pulmonary compliance increases}}\]