Asthma is described as a chronic airway inflammation with bronchial hyperresponsiveness causing reversible airflow obstruction.

Asthma is described as a chronic airway inflammation with bronchial hyperresponsiveness causing reversible airflow obstruction.

• A. A chronic airway inflammation with bronchial hyperresponsiveness causing reversible airflow obstruction.
• B. A fixed, non-reversible obstruction.
• C. A disease primarily affecting the alveoli with no airway involvement.
• D. An acute infection.

Answer: (A)

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that creates bronchial hyperresponsiveness, leading to reversible airflow obstruction. This means the airways are persistently inflamed and hypersensitive to triggers, so they narrow episodically, causing symptoms like wheeze and shortness of breath, but the obstruction typically improves with bronchodilators or anti-inflammatory treatment. This reversibility distinguishes asthma from conditions with fixed, non-reversible obstruction, such as many forms of COPD. It also centers on airway involvement rather than primarily alveolar disease, and it is not defined by an acute infection, though infections can trigger episodes. So the best choice captures the ongoing airway inflammation, hyperresponsiveness, and reversible obstruction that define asthma.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that creates bronchial hyperresponsiveness, leading to reversible airflow obstruction. This means the airways are persistently inflamed and hypersensitive to triggers, so they narrow episodically, causing symptoms like wheeze and shortness of breath, but the obstruction typically improves with bronchodilators or anti-inflammatory treatment. This reversibility distinguishes asthma from conditions with fixed, non-reversible obstruction, such as many forms of COPD. It also centers on airway involvement rather than primarily alveolar disease, and it is not defined by an acute infection, though infections can trigger episodes. So the best choice captures the ongoing airway inflammation, hyperresponsiveness, and reversible obstruction that define asthma.