Control of Ventilation & Procedures Flashcards
What are respiratory related neurons?
- a group of neurons that fire more during specific parts of the respiratory cycle
- can be interneurons, premotor neurons, or motor neurons
What does the central respiratory center do?
-coordinates the respiratory muscles to achieve eupnea without us having to actively think about it
What is eupnea?
-normal pattern of quiet breathing
What are the two concentrations of central respiratory neurons, and where do they live?
- Dorsal respiratory Group (DRG)
- ventral respiratory group (VRG)
-live in the medulla
What is the dominant activity of Dorsal Respiratory group neurons?
Inspiration
There are Rostral, intermediate, and Caudal ventral respiratory group neurons, what is the dominant activity of each?
- Rostral = expiration
- Intermediate = Inspiration
- Caudal = Expiration
What do pons respiratory centers do for us?
- modulate normal respiratory output
- not essential for breathing
Where are peripheral chemoreceptors locaged? What do they mostly sense?
- carotid bodies
- Hypoxemia
What does spirometry measure?
- Full inspiratory effort after a full expiratory effort
- measures vital capacity (VC)
What is Vital Capacity (VC)?
-the maximal volume of air that can be inhaled or exhaled
What is inspiratory reserve volume (IRV)?
- it is the volume of extra air we can inhale past our normal tidal volume
- there just in case we need it
What is the residual volume (RV) of our lungs?
-air that we can never breathe out, lest our lungs collapse
What are diffusion capacity tests?
-used to estimate how well oxygen diffuses across the alveolar membrane
What is DLCO?
-the volume of caabon monoxide transferred across the alveolar-capillary membrane per minute, per mmHg of the difference between the alveolar and capillary blood
