L1 - PHYS - Respiratory Cycle & Mechanics Flashcards
What is the journey of oxygen?
Air (atmosphere) –> Lung and Blood –> Tissues –> Mitochondria
What is Boyle’s Law?
Pressure of gas is inversely proportional to its volume. P1V1=P2V2
How does air passively move into the lungs?
When the lung volume increases, pressure decreases, so air enters.
When lung volume decreases, pressure increases so air exits.
What is PB typically?
760 mm Hg
HOWEVER, we normalize it to 0 cm H2O
What happens when inspiratory muscles contract?
thoracic volume increases
chest wall wants to expand and lungs want to collapse - have interplay
Are lungs and muscles/ribs directly connected?
No lungs and muscles/ribs are NOT directly connected.
This comes into play during inspiration events (contraction of muscles)
Because of the coupling of lungs and chest wall, lungs expand as thorax expands.
What are the Pleural of the Lungs?
The visceral and parietal pleura.
Intrapleural Space
Between the visceral and parietal pleura there is a fluid (parietal fluid) - 5-35 um thick
What is Intrapleural Pressure?
It is less than atmospheric pressure (negative)
Can think of it as intrathoracic pressure - the pressure everywhere in the thorax EXCEPT the lumens of blood vessels, lymphatics, or airways.
What is the unit for respiratory pressures?
cm H2O (NOT mm Hg as in cardio phys)
1 cm H2O is about 1m Hg due to density differences
What is intrapleural pressure (Ppl) at rest?
near -5 cm H2O
What is Ppl (intrapleural pressure) during inspiration?
As volume increases, pressure decreases, so Ppl goes to -8 cm H2O
It becomes more negative
What does Alveolar Pressure (PA) do during inspiration?
PA decreases as thoracic cavity increases in size.
From 0.5 cm H2O to -1 cm H2O
At rest PB=PA = 0 cm H2O
At end of inspiration PA is -1 due to increase in alveolar size which causes air to enter lungs (pressure difference!)
What is Transpulmonary Pressure?
The difference between Pleural Pressure and Alveolar Pressure.
Ptp = Palv - Ppl
5cm H2O at rest
What would happen if Ptp = 0?
Lung collapse
What does the respiratory cycle graph look like for volume changes?
Positive bell curve ranging 0 to +0.5 liters
Increasing during inspiration, decreasing during expiration.
What does the respiratory cycle graph look like for Alveolar Pressure changes?
Looks like an oscillation curve
Decreases then increases during inspiration (0 to -1 cm H2O and then back)
Increases during during expiration (0 to +1) and then decreases back to 0.
What does the respiratory cycle curve look like for the Intrapleural Pressure changes?
a negative bell curve / looks like a U/V
During inspiration it goes more negative from -5 cm H2O to -8 cm H2O
During expiration it increases from -8 back to -5 cm H2O
What does the Air Flow graph look like during the respiratory cycle?
Looks like an oscillation curve
During inspiration it decreases from 0 to -1 then increases back to 0 L/sec.
During Expiration it increases from 0 to +1 and then back to 0 L/sec.
*the convention that inspiration air flow is negative is now important and lost in history
What are the values of the respiratory cycle at rest?
Volume = 0 L
PaO = 0 cm H2O
Ppl = -5 cm H2O
Air Flow = 0 L/sec
What are the values of the respiratory cycle Mid-Inspiration?
Volume - Increasing
Pa - Decreasing
Ppl - Decreasing
Air - flowing INTO the lungs
What are the values of the respiratory cycle at the End of Inspiration?
Volume - reached PEAK increase Tidal Volume, Vt = 500 ml Pa - returned to zero Ppl - decreased to -8 cm H2O Air Flow - ceased (at zero)