Patho Unit 7 Flashcards
Understand: - Alterations of Pulmonary Function (Ch 26) - Structure and Function of the Renal and Urologic Systems (Ch 28) - Alterations of Renal and Urinary Tract Function (Ch 29) - Alterations of Digestive Function (Ch 34)
Pulmonary Disease
Signs and Symptoms
- Dyspnea
- Coughing
- Abnormal sputum
- Hemoptysis
- Cyanosis
- Clubbing
- Pleuritic pain
Dyspnea
- Also known as shortness of breath
- Breathlessness, labored breathing
- Caused by increased airway resistance
- Symptom: breathing is uncomfortable
- Signs: flared nostrils and use of accessory muscles
Coughing
A protective reflex that cleans airways with an explosive expiration to remove foreign particles
Abnormal Sputum
- Sputums is mucus mixed with substances in lower respiratory tract (the passengers on the MUCOCILIARY ESCALATOR)
- Changes in color, consistency, odor, and amount provide information about a disease and disease progression
Hemoptysis
Coughing up blood or bloody secretions
- Usually bright red (mixing air and red blood cells keeps them oxygenated)
- Localized infection or inflammation has damaged the bronchi or alveolar-capillary membrane
Kussmaul Respiration
Hyperpnea
Decrease in blood pH (increase in plasma H+) causes hyperventilation Results in: - Increased respiratory rate - Large increase in Tidal Volume - No expiratory pause
Cheyne-Stokes Respiration
- Breathing fluctuates
- Periods of apnea or hypopnea alternating with periods of hyperpnea
- Occurs in about half of patients with congestive heart failure or neurological disease including stroke
- More common during sleep
Hypoventilation
Alveolar gas exchange insufficient for metabolic demands
- Increased PCO2
- Respiratory Acidosis
Hyperventilation
Alveolar gas exchange greater than metabolic demands
- Decreased PCO2
- Respiratory Alkalosis
- Causes: anxiety, head injury, pain, Low PO2
Cyanosis
Bluish coloration of mucous membranes and the skin caused by increased amounts of deoxygenated hemoglobin
- O2 saturation is a measured of how many oxygen binding sites on hemoglobin are occupied
- In cyanosis O2 saturation is < 85% in arterial blood (normal 97-99%)
Clubbing
Increased connective tissue and vasculature in fingers/toes because of chronic anoxia
- Mechanisms unclear: probably due to some sort of chemical signaling
Pleuritic Pain
Sharp, stabbing pain associated with breathing
- From disorders affecting the pleurae, airways, and chest wall
Pulmonary Ventilation
V = the amount of air (in Liters) entering the lungs per minute Va = the amount of air (in Liters) entering the alveoli per minute
Perfusion
Q = the amount of blood that flows through the lung capillaries each minute
Ventilation-Perfusion Coupling
Va/Q, the matching of pulmonary blood flow to oxygen, forces or shunts blood to areas of higher oxygen
- In healthy individuals Va = 4.5L/min, Q = 5.0L/min, ideally it equals ~1
- Under hypoxic conditions, pulmonary blood vessels constrict
- If no air enters the lungs Va/Q=0, blood flows but no gas exchange takes place
- If air enters lungs but blood doesn’t flow Va/Q=∞, blood is not oxygenated and cannot release CO2 (ex: Pulmonary Embolism)
Hypercapnia
Blood CO2 too high
- Depression of respiratory center by drugs
- Diseases of the Medulla (respiratory centers of brainstem affected by infection or trauma)
- Problem with Phrenic Nerve innervation (polio, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal cord injury)
- Diseases of the Neuromuscular Junction (myasthenia gravis, muscular dystrophy)
- Thoracic cage trauma or congenital deformity
- Large airway obstruction (tumors, apnea)
- Physiologic dead space (emphysema)
Hypoxemia
Blood O2 too low
- Problem with O2 delivery to the alveoli (reduced PO2/reduced Va)
- Problem with O2 moving across the alveolar-capillary membrane (Va/Q mismatch, blockage in A-C membrane)
- Problem with blood arriving to be oxygenated
Problem with O2 Delivery to Alveoli
Reduced PO2: - High altitude - Low O2 content in air - Suffocation Reduced Ventilation of Alveoli: - Brain damage - Chest wall restriction - Airway obstruction - COPD - emphysema, chronic asthma
Problem with O2 Moving Across the A-C Membrane
Va/Q Mismatch: - Asthma - Bronchitis - Pneumonia - Acute respiratory distress syndrome - Atelectases - Pulmonary embolism Blockage in A-C Membrane - Edema - Fibrosis - Emphysema
Problem with Blood Arriving to be Oxygenated
- Cardiac defects
- Arteriovenous malformations in lung
Pneumothorax
- If air can leak into the Pleural Cavity, then Thoracic Cavity can’t develop a pressure difference
- Surface tension takes over and causes the A-C Membrane to collapse in on itself
- The entire lung collapses and Pneumothorax results
- This is a special case of Atelectasis
Atelectasis
Any abnormal structure in the alveoli of the lung
- What happens when “the grapes” (alveoli) are smashed
- Interferes with gas exchange
Pleural Effusion
Any abnormal or excess liquid in the alveoli interferes with external respiration - dyspnea
2 types:
- Transudative Effusion
- Exudative Effusion
Transudative Effusion
Increase in hydrostatic pressure or decrease in oncotic pressure in capillary
- This is the mechanism of Pulmonary Edema in, for example, congestive heart failure