Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the lungs, but there are many systemic manifestations, of which perhaps the most important is the muscular dysfunction. Muscle dysfunction highly contributes to the reduction of physical capacity, the benefits of treatment and is an independent predictor of morbidity and mortality. Discovering the intimate molecular mechanisms leading to muscle dysfunction is key to developing new and changing of the old

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... c strategies to combat muscle dysfunction in COPD. The aim of this review is to summarize the knowledge on pathophysiological disorders of the peripheral muscles in COPD with special attention to skeletal muscle atrophy, the histological changes associated with redistribution of fiber types, changes in muscle bioenergy and blood flow on capillary level. A special place is taken by the information on pathogenic mechanisms of muscle dysfunction as imbalance of turnover of proteins, impaired nutrition of cells, reduced physical load on the muscles, use of systemic corticosteroids, tissue hypoxia and hypercapnia, inflammation, oxidative/nitrogen stress and mitochondrial impairment.