(Solved): 2 An older adult patient presents with a 10-year history of chronic cough and sputum production, par ...

2 An older adult patient presents with a 10-year history of chronic cough and sputum production, particularly in the mornings. She has smoked 1 pack of cigarettes daily for 45 years but quit last year. Spirometry indicates a postbronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio of 0.65 . Which of the following pathophysiological processes is most directly responsible for the excessive mucus production observed in this condition? Decreased cilia function in the bronchi Accumulation of inflammatory cells in the alveoli Hyperplasia of the mucus-secreting glands in the bronchioles Thickening of the arterial walls in the pulmonary circulation