Emphysema Editorial Cover Illustration

Emphysema Editorial Cover Illustration
by Cynthia Turner

• Awarded April 15, 2025
• CLIENT: Alexander and Turner Medical Illustration Studio
• 1.249

A conceptual illustration of an air-filled inner landscape with galactic depth conveying the breathlessness wrought by emphysemic changes to the alveoli air sacs of the lungs. The inner walls of the alveoli are damaged, causing them to break down and merge to form larger, fewer air sacs. This creates one larger air space instead of many small ones. The remaining alveoli become abnormally large and inflated, also reducing the surface area available for gas exchange. These cumulative structural tissue changes cause the lungs to become less elastic, making it difficult to exhale air effectively.