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life expectancy of parents), long-term and often repeated nervous and emotional

overstrain.

The main features of the patients of elderly and senile age:

1. Involutional (associated with reverse development) functional and morpho-

logical changes on the part of various organs and systems, which begin to appear

as early as 40–50 years.

2. the Presence of two or more diseases in one patient.

3. Mainly chronic course of diseases.

4. Atypical clinical course of diseases caused to some extent by involutive

changes.

5. the Presence of «senile» diseases (for example, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's

disease, etc.).

6. Changes in protective, primarily immune, responses.

7. Change in socio-psychological status.

Age-related changes in the body and related features of pathological process-

es in aging make it difficult to treat elderly and senile patients, which should be

carried out with these features in mind.

Age-related anatomical and physiological features of the respiratory system

1. The elasticity of the pulmonary parenchyma decreases, its atrophy develops.

2. As a result of increasing the size of the alveoli, the respiratory surface of the

lungs decreases by 40–45%.

3. Altered blood vessels (pulmonary capillaries are compacted, become «brit-

tle») do not provide adequate nutrition of the lung tissue, gas exchange is difficult.

4. Membrane compaction hinders gas exchange between alveolar air and capil-

lary blood.

5. Alveolar ventilation becomes uneven.

6. Due to a decrease in the activity of the ciliated epithelium and the sensitivity

of mucosal receptors, gradual atrophy of epithelial cells, the mechanism of self-

cleaning of the bronchi is disrupted.

7. Atrophy of the glandular epithelium and cartilage tissue of the bronchi leads to the

formation of clear-cut swellings of the bronchi and uneven narrowing of their lumen.

8. Reduced cough reflex.

9. Dystrophic changes in the muscular apparatus of the chest and back, the for-

mation of a barrel shape of the chest, sclerotic changes reduce mobility ribs, limit

the volume of the chest excursion.

10. Increases the sensitivity of the respiratory center to carbon dioxide and hy-

poxia.

Age-related anatomical and physiological features organs of the cardiovas-

cular system

When sclerosing the aorta, coronary, cerebral and renal arteries, their elasticity

decreases; compaction of the vascular wall leads to a constant increase in periph-

eral resistance.