Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic Fibrosis
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.72

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		bowel, chloride, cystic, fecal, fibrosis, lubricant, persistent, reproductive, continuous, teens, digestion, mainly, blockage, defective, digest, intestinal
	content words:		United States

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Cystic Fibrosis
By Jennifer Kenny

¹     Have you ever heard of cystic fibrosis? Do you know anyone with this condition? Cystic fibrosis, or CF, affects around 30,000 people in the United States alone. Both males and females can suffer from it. It is an inherited disease, but it is not contagious. There are both mild and severe cases of cystic fibrosis.

²     In a person without cystic fibrosis, thin, watery mucus is produced by the epithelial cells. This mucus is meant to help protect the body's tissues. It acts like a lubricant. In a person with cystic fibrosis, though, the problem is that the gene needed to make normal mucus is defective. Instead, thick, sticky mucus is produced. This clogs passages in organs of the body. Mainly, the lungs and pancreas are affected. Thus, a person with cystic fibrosis has breathing and digestive problems.

³     What kind of breathing problems does a person with cystic fibrosis experience? Because the thicker mucus has trouble moving out of the lungs, bacteria can stay, and infections result. The thicker mucus can also block the path between the pancreas and intestines. This clog makes it difficult to digest food and get vitamins and nutrients. In some cases, the liver, sweat glands, and reproductive organs are affected.

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