Resp Flashcards
What is partial pressure and how is it calculated?
- The pressure which a gas exerts within a mixture
- Proportional the the volume of gas in the mixture ie air is 21% oxygen so will generate a partial pressure of 21kPa
Describe the intrathorasic pressure changes during inspiration and expiration
- Inspiration = lungs expand and volume increases whilst pressure falls below atmomspheric pressure allowing air to flow into lungs
- Expiration = lungs deflate and volume decreases whilst pressure rises forcing air out
What is saturated vapour pressure?
-The amount of pressure exerted by liquid molecules as they evaporate at a liquid-gas interface after equilibrium is reached
What is the effect of saturated water vapour on nitrogen and oxygen as it is breathed in?
-Lowers the partial pressure as it contributes to the total pressure in the airways
What is gas tension? What dertermines gas tension
- The amount of pressure exerted in a liquid by gas condensing into it
- Same as partial pressure in the air as it will reach equilibrium
What epithelium lines the upper respiratory tract?
-Pseudostratified columnar ciliated epithelium with goblet cells
What are the function of the conchae/turbinates?
-To increase the surface area in order to warm and humidify air, to mix air
What are the functions of the nose?
- Organ of smell
- Filter (hairs and mucus) and humidify air
- Receive local secretions form sinuses and nasolacrimal duct
Which sinuses correspond to which meatus in the nose?
- Frontal, anterior ethmoid and maxillary into middle
- Sphenoid and posterior ethmoid into superior
- Nasolacrimal to inferior
Why can upper resp tract infections cause middle ear infections?
-Track up eustachian tube
Describe the positioning of the vocal cords during respiration, swallowing, speech and coughing
- Respiration -> open
- Swallowing -> closed
- Speech -> partially closed
- Coughing -> initially closed then open
What is the glottis?
-Two vocal cords and opening between them
What moves the vocal cords and what nerve supplies these muscles? How can this relate to a horse voice?
- Intrinsic muscles of larynx
- Recurrent laryngeal nerve (branch of vagus)
- Any damage to the RLN eg thyroid goitre, apical lung tumour, stroke, can lead to hoarse voice
Which bronchi is most likely to aspirate a foreign body and why?
-Right as the path is more vertical
Describe the defect in CF and how this causes symptoms
- Defective ion channel named cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator causing comprimised cl transport across the membrane
- Water does not leave epithelium producing thick, viscous and sticky mucus which is hard to clear. this produces severe pulmonary infections, pancreatitis and gi disturbances
How do the bronchioles remain open during inspiration if they have no supporting cartilage? What happens during expiration? In which pathology can this be problematic and why?
- The tension from the surrounding alveoli keep them open. during expiration they willl collapse as the alveoli are not filled with air
- COPD/emphysema- Increased airway resistance due to destruction of supporting alveolus tissue causing early closure of the bronchioles during expiration
What cells secrete surfactant and why is it so crucial to lung function?
- Clara cells/type II pneumocytes
- Surfactant decreases the surface tension in alveoli in order to keep the pressures in each alveolus similar and prevent bullae formation. This is because smaller alveolus will have a larger surface tensio.Surfactant has a greater effect in smaller alveoli as there is less surface area for it to cover therefore the pressure in each alveolus becomes equal
What is emphysema?
- Desctruction of the alveolar walls as a result of a1-antitrypsin deficiency or smoking
- results in difficulty breathing due to early closure of bronchioles
- Air become trapped within the alveoli
In which direction do the upper and lower ribs move?
- Upper increase AP diameter
- Lower increase transverse diameter
Describe the intercostal muscles and their function
- External -> end close to costal cartilage and elevate the ribs during quiet inspiration
- Internal -> end close to vertebral column and depress the ribs during forced expiration
- Innermost -> only lie laterally and depres the ribs in forced expiration
Where would you place a chest drain and why?
- 5th intercostal space mid axillary line at the superior border of 6th rib
- Avoid any thick musculature and avoid neurovascular bundle which runs along each inferior rib
From where do the intercostal arteries arise?
- Posterior from thoracic aorta
- Anterior from internal thoracic (from subclavian)
What is the main source of venous drainage of the thoracic wall?
-Azygous system
What is the function of the diaphragm? Where/why are the openings in the diaphragm
- Main muscle of inspiration
- T8 -> IVC aperture
- T10 -> oesophageal aperture
- T12-> Aortic aperture
Where is the upper border of the liver during expiration?
-5th rib
Describe the nerve supply of the diaphragm and why this can cause shoulder tip pain?
- C3,4,5 (phrenic)
- Referred pain upon diaphragmatic irritation to dermatomes C3,4,5
State the muscles used in normal inspiration. What are the accessory muscles of inspiration?
- Diaphragm and external intercostals
- Scalene
- Sternocleidomastoid
- Pec major
- Serratus anterior
What are the muscles of quiet and forced expiration?
- Quiet expiration is by elastic recoil of lungs and chest wall -> passive, no muscles involved
- Forced -> abdominal muscles and internal/innermost intercoastals
What are the four parts of the pleura?
-Cervical, mediastinal, costal and diaphragmatic
What is the pleural seal? What happens when it is broken?
- Formed by the surface tension of the pleural fluid, prevents the parietal and visceral pleura from being pulled apart coupling movements on the thoracic wall with movement of the lungs
- Break in the seal causes air to rush inside the pleural cavity due to negative pressure -> pneumothorax
What is the costophrenic recess? Why is it clinically significant?
- The pleural lined gutter which covers the upward convexity of the diaphragm
- Loss of this recess on an xray indicates pathology
What are the possible extrapulmonary presentations of an apical lung tumour?
- Horners (ptosis, myosis and anhydrosis)
- Lower brachial plexus injury
- Hoarse voice
- Cushings syndrome
- SIADH
- Hyperparathyroidism
Describe the surface markings of the lungs and pleura
- Lungs -> begin at clavicle and descend beside sternum to 4th rib, then move laterally to be at 6th rib mid clavicular line, then 8th rib anterior axillary line then 10th rib posteriorly
- Pleura -> begins at clavicle an descends beside sternum until 6th rib, then moves laterally to mid clavicular line at 8th rib, anterior axillary line at 10th rib and 12th rib posteriorly
What is lung compliance? Name a disease in which over compliance is an issue. Name a disease in which low compliance is an issue
- How stretchy the lungs are -> higher compliance = easier stretch
- Emphysema -> loss of elastic recoil causes barrel shaped chest as lung expands more easily
- Fibrosis
What is Respiratory distress syndrome?
- Occurs in neonates which are born prematurely. Lungs are not well enough developed to produce surfactant meaning the surface tension in alveoli is too great to keep alveoli open and bullae are formed and the lungs are very stiff causing compromised gas exchange
- Occurs in adults after major trauma
Why do obstructive airway diseases affect expiration and not inspiration
- During inspiration there is a lower intrathoracic pressure as the airways are expanding meaning the bronchioles are open so inspiration is fine
- During expiration the intrathoracic pressure rises and the smaller airways which have no cartilage collapse earlier than they would without disease due to an increase in resistance to airflow causing air to become trapped
Why is O2 affected more than CO2 in a diseased lung? how can the pressure gradient of CO2 be so small?
- O2 is less soluble than CO2
- CO2 is so soluble that a very small pressure gradient can be present and diffusion will still occur
What is the partial pressure of O2 and CO2 in the alveoli and blood in a normal lung?
- 13.3% O2
- 5.3% CO2
By what 3 mechanisms is CO2 carried around the body
- Dissolved in plasma
- Bound to haemoglobin
- As bicarb in the plasma
Why is it important that deoxygenated blood is saturated with O2 by 1/3 of its distance across the alveolus?
-When HR increased the transit time of blood spent in contact with the alveolus is halved -> allows full saturation still
Why is it significant that it takes multiple new breaths to replace all the alveolar air?
-Guards against sudden changes in blood gas levels on interruption of respiration -> allows more respiratory stability
What determines the partial pressure in the alveolus?
- Rate of air entry into alveolus
- Rate os absorption into RBC
What is the alveolar ventilation rate?
- The amount of air which actually reaches the alveolus per minute
- Pulmonary ventilation rate - dead space ventilation rate
What is alveolar ventilation mismatching?
-When the ventilation and perfusion of the lungs is not equal
Normally:
-Alveolar ventilation rate is approx 5L/min
-Lung perfusion is approx 5L/min
-So ventilation matches perfusion producing a V/Q ratio of 1
What is dead space?
- Air which is exchanged in each breath which doesnt take part in respiration ie the air in the trachea and conducting bronchioles or damaged airways
- Serial/anatomical = conducting airways (0.15L)
- Distributive = dead/damaged alveoli/ poorly perfused alveoli
- Serial+dstributive =physiological
How do you calculate dead space ventilation rate?
-Physiologocal dead space x RR
Define tidal volume, inspiratory reserve volume and expiratory reserve volume, residual volume
- The amount of air breathed in and out during quiet respiration
- The amount of air which can be breathed in above quiet respiration
- The amount of air which can be breathed out above quiet respiration
- The amount of air remaining in the lung after maximal expiration
Define inspiratory capacity, vital capacity, functional residual capacity and total lung capacity
- inspiratory reserve volume plus tidal volume
- max inspiration to max expiration -> IRV +TV + ERV
- volume of air in lungs at resting expiratory level -> ERV + RV
- VC + RV
What does a vitalograph show? What will an obstructive pattern look like? What will a restrictive pattern look like?
- Volume expired over time ie forced vital capacity (FVC -> maximum volume which can be expired from full lungs)
- Volume which is expired in first second (FEV1)
- Air expired more slowly so FEV1 reduced and FVC relatively normal
- FEV1 the same as no obstruction but total FVC reduced -> lungs unabe to fill
Give some causes of obstructive/restrictive airway disease
- Obstructive -> Asthma, COPD
- Restictive -> Interstitial lung disease, pneumothorax, neuromuscular disorder, chest wall deformity