What is the clinical significance of elevated physiological dead space? With age, the airways receptors undergo functional changes and are less likely to respond to medications that were previously effective in treating the same illnesses in younger people. The amount of dead space in the alveoli rises with age, reducing arterial oxygenation but not decreasing carbon dioxide removal. How does the alveolar dead space change with age? Small airway diameter reduces beyond the age of 40, while airway resistance remains constant, indicating that the aging process is not affecting it. The expiratory flow, on the other hand, fluctuates relatively little. Because the width of the bigger airways grows with age, the amount of dead space rises.
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