Pulmonary Blood Flow, Gas Exchange and Transport Flashcards
Bronchial circulation
- Bronchial arteries arise from thoracic aorta
- Nutritive (airway smooth muscle, nerves and lung tissue)
Pulmonary circulation
- Pulmonary artery carries entire CO from RV and supplies dense capillary network around alveoli
- Pulmonary vein returns oxygenated blood to the LA of the heart
- High flow, low pressure (25/8mmHg)
Dalton’s Law
Sum of pressures of individual gases = total pressure of gas mixture
Charles’ Law
Volume occupied by gas is directly related to the absolute temperature
Henry’s Law
Volume of gas dissolved in liquid is determined by:
- Pressure of gas
- Solubility of gas in liquid
Difference between partial pressure and gas content
Partial pressure of a gas is related to the concentration of that gas in the gas content
Diffusion
Air diffuses across a permeable membrane down partial pressure gradient until equilibrium is reached
Alveolar PO2
100 mmHg
13.3 kPa
Alveolar PCO2
40 mmHg
5.3 kPa
Arterial PO2
100 mmHg
- 3 kPa
- determined by diffusion
Arterial PCO2
40 mmHg
5.3 kPa
Venous PO2
40 mmHg
5.3 kPa
Venous PCO2
46 mmHg
6.2 kPa
4 factors affecting gas exchange
Directly proportional to:
- Partial pressure gradient
- Gas solubility
- Available surface area
Indirectly proportional to:
4. Thickness of the membrane
Oxygen diffusion
Large partial pressure gradient (100->40)
Low solubility
Carbon dioxide diffusion
Small partial pressure gradient (46->40)
High solubility so faster than oxygen
Thickness of the membrane
- Type I pneumocytes (simple squamous epithelium)
- Alveolar macrophages ingest foreign material in alveoli
Oxygen demand of resting tissues
250 ml/min