Respiratory Flashcards
How long w/o adequate airway and ventilation will brain injury or death occur?
4 minutes
What are 5 Basic things to look out for while monitoring and reassessing airway?
Displacement, mucous plugging, equipment failure, or development of pneumothorax.
4 Pairs of Sinuses (named for bone they’re attached to)
Ethmoid sinuses, Frontal sinuses, Maxillary sinuses, Sphenoid Sinuses(upper)
Functions of sinuses
Assist heating, purifying, and moistening inhaled air.
Trap bacteria etc..
What does Fx of Sphenoid cartilage accompany?
CSF leakage from cranial cavity (Drains from nose aka rhinorrhea).
Why is Sphenoid cartilage fx dangerous?
Potential transmission of infection from sinuses to brain, etc.
Eustachian tubes
Connect ear with nasal cavity and allow for equalization of pressure on each side of the tympanic membrane.
Nasolacrimal ducts
drain tears and debris from eyes into nasal cavity.
Bony projections in nose
superior, middle, and inferior turbinates, or conchae.
Function of conchae in nose
Increase surface area of nasal cavity, cause turbulent flow, which filters air by depositing airborne particles on the mucous membrane, where cilia propel them to back of pharynx, where they are swallowed. (virtually no particles reach the lungs)
Temp/humidity of air by the time it reaches lower airway?
37 C (body temperature), 100% humidity
How is the tongue connected?
Attaches to mandible and hyoid bone(only fully self suspended bone in body) through muscles and ligaments
While assessing airway, what can go wrong with the adenoids, impeding assessment?
They can hypertrophy or swell from infection, impeding view of posterior pharynx.
Which vertebrae are posterior to the hypo-pharynx?
3rd and 4th.
Arytenoid cartilage
Forms a pyramid shaped attachment for the vocal cords posteriorly, and is an important landmark for ET intubation.
Thyrohyoid membrane
Connects the hyoid bone to the thyroid cartilage.
pyriform fossae
Recesses forming lateral borders of the larynx.
How do vocal chords function?
Muscles inside the larynx contract. They can close to prevent foreign bodies from entering the airway.
Cricothyroid membrane
connects the inferior thyroid to the superior cricoid cartilage.
What does stimulation of the laryngeal membrane cause during intubation?
Can cause bradycardia, hypotension, and decreased respiratory rate.
Where does the highly vascular thyroid gland lie?
inferior to the cricoid cartilage. contains 1 lobes on each side of the trachea, connected by isthmus which extends across trachea.
Where do carotid arteries lie?
Closely along the trachea.
How does the trachea expel foreign particulate
Secretes mucus to trap particles, then cilia moves the mucous upward into the mouth.
Surfactant
chemical substance lining alveolar sacs which reduces the surface tension making it easier for the sacs to expand.
Atelectasis
Collapse of the alveolar sac which can occur if there isn’t enough surfactant or if alveoli are not inflated. No gas exchange takes place in atelectatic alveoli.
Parenchyma
Lung lobes
Pleurisy
inflamed pleura, causing significant chest pain with respiration. Common in cigarette smokers.
Differences in Pediatric airway
Epiglottis is floppier and rounder, teeth are softer and more fragile. Larynx is more superior and anterior, as well as funnel shaped. Cricoid cartilage is narrowest point(less than 10 years), Ribs are softer and more pliable causing more reliance on diaphragms to breath.
Croup
Viral infection causing the soft tissues below glottis to swell.
