Respiratory Flashcards
What is directly proportional to the pressure difference between the mouth (or nose) and the alveoli?
Airflow
What is inversely proportional to airway resistance?
Airflow; the higher the airway resistance, the lower the airflow
What are some factors that change airway resistance?
- The major site of airway resistance is the medium- sized bronchi
- The smallest airway would seem to offer the highest resistance, but they do not because of their parallel arrangement
What is anatomical Dead Space?
The volume of the conducting airways; 150mL
What is tidal volume? TV
the volume inspired or expired with each normal breath
What is Inspiratory reserve volume? IRV
the volume that can be inspired over and above the tidal volume; used during exercise
What is Expiratory reserve volume? ERV
the volume that can be expired after the expiration of a tidal volume
What is Residual volume? RV
the volume that remains in the lungs after a maximal expiration
What is physiologic dead space?
volume of the lungs that does not participate in gas exchange; it is approximately equal to the anatomic dead space in normal lungs; may be greater than the anatomic dead space in lung diseases in which there are ventilation/ perfusion defects
What is alveolar ventilation?
Tidal volume- dead space X breaths/min
What is the inspiratory capacity?
the sum of tidal volume and IRV
What is Functional residual capacity (FRC)?
the sum of ERV and RV; the volume remaining in the lungs after a tidal volume is expired.
What is vital capacity, or forced vital capacity?
the sum of the tidal volume, IRV, and ERV; it is the volume of air that can be forcibly expired after a maximal inspiration
What is total lung capacity? TLC?
the sum of all four lung volumes; the volume of the lungs after a maximal inspiration; it cannot be measured by spirometry
What is FEV1?
The volume of air that can be expired in the first second of a forced maximal expiration. It is normally 80% of the forced vital capacity.
What are the muscles of inspiration?
External intercostals, sternocleidomastoid, serratus anterior, scalenes
What are the muscles during expiration?
rectus abdominus, and internal intercostals
What is compliance of the respiratory system?
- Describes the distensibility of the lungs and the chest wall
- inversely related to elastane
- inversely relate to stiffness
- is the change in volume for a given change in pressure. Pressure refers to transmural or transpulmonary pressure (the pressure difference across pulmonary structures)
What is transmural pressure?
alveolar pressure- intrapleural pressure
What happens when the pressure outside of the lungs (intrapleural pressure) is negative?
the lungs expand and lung volume increases
What happens when the pressure outside of the lungs (intrapleural pressure) is positve?
The lungs collapse and lung volume decreases
What happens when the lungs are at rest?
Lung volume is at FRC (volume remaining in lungs after tidal volume) and the pressure in the airways and lungs is equal to atmospheric pressure (i.e. zero).
What happens when the lungs are at rest, under equilibrium conditions?
There is a collapsing force on the lungs and an expanding force on the chest wall. At FRC these two forces are equal and opposite. The combined lung- chest wall system neither wants to collapse nor expand.
When the lungs are at rest, under equilibrium conditions, what is the pressure of the intrapleural space?
As a result of the two opposing forces, the intrapleural pressure is negative.
What is a Pneumothorax?
When air is introduced into the intrapleural space; the intrapleural pressure becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure; and the lungs will collapse and the chest wall will spring outward.
What happens with a patient with emphysema?
Their lung compliance will increase; and the tendency of the lungs to collapse is decreases. The lung- chest wall system will seek a new, higher FRC so that the two opposing forces can be balanced; the patients chest wall becomes barrel-shapped.
What happens with a patient with Fibrosis?
Lung compliance is decreased and the tendency of the lungs to collapse is increased. At the original FRC, the tendency of the lungs to collapse is greater than the tendency of the chest wall to expand. The lung- chest wall system will seek a new, lower FRC so that the two opposing forces can be balanced.
Surface tension of the alveoli results in what?
results from the attractive forces between liquid molecules lining the alveoli.
What kind of alveoli have a low collapsing pressure and are easy to keep open?
Large alveoli (large radii)
What kind of alveoli have high collapsing pressures and are more difficult to keep open?
Small alveoli (small radii)
In the absence of surfactant, which alveoli have a tendency to collapse?
Small Alveoli
How does surfactant reduce the surface tension?
disrupting the intermolecular forces between the liquid molecules. It prevents the small alveoli from collapsing and increases compliance.
How is surfactant synthesized?
Type II alveolar cells
Surfactant may be present as early as gestational week___?
24
What does contraction or relaxation of bronchial smooth muscle change?
Changes airway resistance by altering the radius of the airways
What does parasympathetic stimulation do to the bronchial smooth muscle?
constrict the airways, decrease the radius, and increase the resistance to airflow; also done by the slow- reacting substance of anaphylaxis (asthma)
What does sympathetic stimulation do to the bronchial smooth muscle?
Sympathetic stimulation and sympathetic agonist (isoproterenol) dilate the airways via Beta 2 receptors, increase the radius, and decrease the resistance to airflow
What are high lung volumes associated with?
greater traction and decreased airway resistance. Patients with increased airway resistance (e.g. asthma) “ learn” to breathe at higher lung volumes to offset the high airway resistance
What are low lung volumes associated with?
less traction and increased airway resistance, even to the point of airway collapse.
What changes the resistance to air flow?
Viscosity or density of inspired air
What happens when the lungs are at rest (before inspiration begins)?
The alveolar pressure equals atmospheric pressure; because lung pressure are expressed relative to atmospheric pressure, the alveolar pressure is said to be zero
The intrapleural pressure is negative
- The opposing forces of the lungs trying to collapse and the chest wall trying to expand create a negative pressure in the intrapleural space btwn them
- Lung volume is the FRC
What happens during inspiration?
- Inspiratory muscles contract and volume of the thorax increases
- As lung volume increases, the alveolar pressure decreases to less than atmospheric pressure
- The pressure gradient between the atmosphere and the alveoli now causes air to flow into the lungs; airflow will continue until the pressure gradient dissipates
- The intrapleural pressure becomes more negative; because lung volume increases during inspiration, the elastic recoil strength of the lungs also increases.
What are changes in the intrapleural pressure during inspiration used to measure?
dynamic compliance of the lungs
At the peak of inspiration, lung volume is the FRC plus one___?
TV
What happens during expiration?
- Alveolar pressure becomes greater than atmospheric pressure; because alveolar gas is compressed by the elastic forces of the lung.
- The pressure gradient is reversed, and air flows out of the lungs
- Intrapleural pressure returns to its resting value during a normal (passive) expiration
What happens during a forced expiration?
Intrapleural pressure actually becomes positive. This positive intrapleural pressure compresses the airways and makes expiration more difficult.