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Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive scarring of the lungs that increasingly interferes with a patient's ability to breathe. Idiopathic means "of unknown cause" thus, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is pulmonary fibrosis that cannot be positively traced to a particular cause. This is the case with most IPF patients.
Scarring on the lungs occurs when the lungs' normal healing process is disrupted. Whatever the cause, the lungs' air sacs are gradually replaced by fibrous tissue. As the cycle of injury and lung response continues, this tissue becomes thicker and stiffer, causing a loss of the tissue's ability to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream.
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