  The incompressibility of finite fermionic systems is investigated using
analytical approaches and microscopic models. The incompressibility of a system
is directly linked to the zero-point kinetic energy of constituent fermions,
and this is a universal feature of fermionic systems. In the case of atomic
nuclei, this implies a constant value of the incompressibility in medium-heavy
and heavy nuclei. The evolution of nuclear incompressibility along Sn and Pb
isotopic chains is analyzed using global microscopic models, based on both
non-relativistic and relativistic energy functionals. The result is an almost
constant incompressibility in stable nuclei and systems not far from stability,
and a steep decrease in nuclei with pronounced neutron excess, caused by the
emergence of a soft monopole mode in neutron-rich nuclei.
