clinical scenario: volumes and capacities

Question 1

what is a spirometer?

Answer 1

mouthpiece that records the volume of air moved into or out of your lungs

Question 2

what is the result of spirometry?

Answer 2

provide information about the volume of air moved into or out of your lungs, the rate at which this occurs, and the volume moved in a specific time, such as 1 second

Question 3

list volumes of the lungs that of physiological importance

Answer 3

1) the volume of air you normally move into and out of your lungs as you breathe normally
2) the volume of air you could maximally pull into your lungs with the deepest breath possible
3) the volume of air you could force out of your lungs if you exhaled as hard as possible
4) volume of air that remains in your lungs even after you’ve exhaled as hard as possible

Question 4

what is tidal volume?

Answer 4

when the volume of air moving in either direction is the same

Question 5

what is inspiratory volume?

Answer 5

pulling as much air into your lungs as you can

Question 6

what is inspiratory capacity?

Answer 6

combining the volume of air inspired during the tidal volume and the inspiratory reserve volume

Question 7

what is the expiratory reserve volume?

Answer 7

maximal volume of air that you can breathe out after exhaling normally

Question 8

what is the residual volume?

Answer 8

the volume of air that remains in your lungs after you’ve exhaled as hard as possible

Question 9

what is the functional residual capacity?

Answer 9

expiratory residual volume and residual volume, volume of air remaining in your lungs after you breathe out normally.

Question 10

what are the components of the lung that normally don’t collapse remaining from the residual volume?

Answer 10

bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli

Question 11

what is vital capacity a combination of?

Answer 11

inspiratory volume + residual volume + expiratory volume

Question 12

what vital capacity measure?

Answer 12

maximum volume of air you can force out of your lungs after you’ve inhaled as much as possible

Question 13

what is total capacity a combination of?

Answer 13

residual volume, expiratory reserve volume, tidal volume and inspiratory volumes

Question 14

what does total capacity measure?

Answer 14

reflects the total volume of air your lungs can hold

Question 15

normal breathing is a reflection of which measurement?

Answer 15

tidal volume

Question 16

deep inhale dips into which part of the spirometry graph?

Answer 16

inspiratory reserve volume

Question 17

deep exhale dips into which part of the spirometry graph?

Answer 17

expiratory reserve volume

Question 18

deep breathing uses which part of the spirometry graph?

Answer 18

vital capacity

Question 19

what is forced vital capacity (FVC)?

Answer 19

the maximum volume of air that can be exhaled after the deepest breath possible has been taken

Question 20

what is forced expiratory volume in one second or the FEV1?

Answer 20

the maximum volume of air can be exhaled in 1 second

Question 21

what is the ratio that represents the percentage of the ‘functional’ lung volume that can be forcefully exhaled in 1 second?

Answer 21

FEV1/ FVC

Question 22

what is the cause of narrowing of the bronchioles?

Answer 22

bronchoconstriction or bronchospasm: contraction of the smooth muscles that surround these small tubes

Question 23

why is his wheezing worse during expiration?

Answer 23

inflammation of the bronchioles and accumulation of mucus
these processes severely reduce the internal diameter of the bronchioles making it much harder to exhale

Question 24

what can cause wheezing from asthma?

Answer 24

house dust mites, pollens, mold, and animal dander

Question 25

what are the two deleterious effects when IgE causes white blood cells in the tissues to secrete histamine?

Answer 25

1) contraction of the smooth muscles that surround the bronchioles
2) increased secretion of mucous that can occlude the lumen of the bronchioles.

Question 26

why may patients with asthma have a decrease in blood pH?

Answer 26

CO2 levels in the blood increase since it is harder for them to get has in the alveoli out of their lungs

Question 27

what is respiratory acidosis?

Answer 27

reduction in pH is due to an abnormality involving the respiratory system.

Question 28

true or false: people with asthma will have reductions in both FEV 1 values and FEV 1 /FVC.

Answer 28

true

Question 29

true or false: bronchodilators will have effects in patients with pulmonary diseases not characterized by bronchoconstriction

Answer 29

false