Healthy Heart and Lungs Week 1 Flashcards
What are the steps in the diagnostic process of diagnosing someone ?
What is the difference between a symptom and a sign ?
symptom is breathlessness
sign is tachycardia found through examining pulse
Describe the sequence of steps when taking an examination ?
- Inspection
- Palpitation
- Percussion
- Auscultation
Describe how you would inspect the cheat wall when taking a respiratory examination ?
What are some abnormalities you can identify when inspecting the chest wall during an examination ?
- chest wall deformity
- scars
- trapezius - muscle of the back which you can also slightly see from the front.
- scalenus - muscles in the lateral neck
- sternomastoid - most superficial and largest muscle in the front of the neck
As part of the inspection you can assess the respiratory rate.
Normal respiratory rate is about 14beaths/min
Specific signs of opioid poisoning include: small pupils. shallow breathing. drowsiness.
Metabolic acidosis - is the build up of acid in the body due to kidney disease or kidney failure.
Paradoxical respiration - breathing movements were the chest wall moves in on inspiration and out on expiration, which is the reverse of normal movements.
What is VATS ?
Video assisted thoracic surgery.
Leaves a scar.
What is chest wall deformity ?
Chest wall disorders represent deformities and/or injuries that alter the rib cage geometry and result in pulmonary restriction, increased work of breathing, exercise limitations. These disorders are congenital or acquired and affect all ages.
Barrel shaped chest - when chest is puffed up like a barrel.
Cause ? : Barrel chest happens when your lungs become overfilled (hyperinflated) with air. This keeps the rib cage open or expanded for a long time. This happens most often because of chronic lung condition, but other diseases and conditions may cause it as well.
What are the steps involved when inspecting the chest during a respiratory exam ?
Why do we palpate (touching and feeling) the chest during a respiratory examination ?
Palpation is the tactile examination of the chest from which can be elicited: tenderness
asymmetry
diaphragmatic excursion
crepitus
vocal fremitus
Local tenderness can indicate trauma or costochondritis.
costochondritis - is inflammation where your ribs join the sternum. It causes sharp pain in the middle of your chest.
Asymmetry - normal finding are symmetrical chest expansion. Diminished movement of one side of the chest is always abnormal.
The side with reduces expansion is always the side with pathology (disease)
How do you palpate the chest ?
How do you palpate the trachea ?
How and why do you examine the cervical lymph nodes ?
cervical lymph nodes are located in the sides and back of the neck. The glands are usually very small.
when a lymph node is greater than 1cm in diameter it is enlarged.
infection is one of the most common causes of swollen lymph nodes anywhere in the body. when there is an infection somewhere in the body, the lymph nodes in that area fill with white blood cells.
Common infections that lead to cervical lymph nodes are:
- the common cold
- strep throat
- tonsillitis
- ear infections
- dental infections
- HIV
less common causes of swollen cervical lymph nodes:
-cancer
Surface marking of the lung lobes
Right lung - 3 lobes
Left lung - 2 lobes
X ray of lungs ?
Transverse/ Axial CT of lung ?
Transverse/ Axial CT of lung ?
Why do we percuss the chest during a reparatory examination ?
The purpose of percussion is to determine if the area under the percussed finger is air filled (sounding resonant like a drum), fluid filled (a dull sound) or solid (a flat sound).
How do we percuss (tap) the chest ?
Where do we percuss the chest ?
4 down the left front
4 down the right front
4 down the left back
4 down the right back
2 lateral (left and right) down the front
How do you listen to the chest ?
Listening to the chest using a stethoscope is called auscultation.
When Auscultating you listen for breath sounds.
What is the function of the respiratory system ?
- Getting oxygen into the body and getting rid of carbon dioxide waste product.
- Maintain oxygen and carbon dioxide partial pressure gradients to optimise transfer (gas exchange). We manage gas exchange by the equivalent of partial pressure gradients
- Regulate pH of extracellular fluid - acid-base balance.
Outline the concept of internal and external respiration?
External respiration: External respiration involves the external environment
O2 is absorbed from inspired air and CO2 is expelled.
Internal respiration: Internal respiration involves exchange of O2 carried in the blood to the tissues
CO2 by-product collected by the blood
Describe the central control of respiration?
Components of the respiratory control system include:
-Sensors
- Respiratory control center
- Effectors
Sensors - if we are trying to maintain partial pressure of gasses and pH we need a means to sense that, hence we need sensors.
The sensors need to take the information to the brain, which makes up the respiratory control center.
The respiratory control center: is located in the medulla oblonganta and is involved in the minute to minute control of breathing. The inspiratory and expiratory activities are modulated by various sites in the lower brain stem including pons.
Effectors - the muscles that will allow us to make a change.
Describe the role of effectors in the respiratory control system ?
When we carry out quiet breathing (inspiration):
- Diaphragm ( muscle that allows us to breathe)
- Phrenic nerve ( is the nerve that controls the diaphragm)
- Cervical roots C3-C5 (origin of the phrenic nerve)
If the cervical roots in the neck region are damaged this is dangerous as it could affect breathing.
When we carry out quiet breathing (expiration):
- This is a passive process. air moves from an area of higher pressure to an area of lower pressure. The lungs are filled with elastic tissue as a result there is a ELASTIC RECOIL.
If the work of breathing has to be increased for example because of exercise then we have to use accessory muscles.
Which accessory muscles do we use during increased breathing?
- Sometimes we need to use extra muscles during increased respiration, such as during exercise.
- Sometimes when we need to use accessory muscles it ca be a sign of respiratory distress. This is a patient doing a huge amount of work just to breathe.
The accessory muscles of respiration include:
- the scalene
- the sternocleidomastoid
- the trapezius
- the external intercostal
In this image a patient has COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). It is evident he is using accessory muscles such as scalene, sternocleidomastoid and trapezius to breathe.
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