Respiratory Flashcards
Define minute volume?
5 litres of air a minute moved by the respiratory pump
Define Transpulmonary pressure (Ptp)?
difference in pressure between the inside and
outside of the lung (alveolar pressure - intrapleural pressure)
Define Intrapleural pressure (Pip)?
the pressure in the pleural space, also known as
intrathoracic pressure
Define Alveolar pressure (Palv)?
Air pressure in pulmonary alveoli
Describe the process of inspiration?
Impulses stimulating contraction are transmitted to the diaphragm via the phrenic
nerve which arises form C3,4 & 5
- The diaphragm contracts causing its dome to move downwards - thereby enlarging the thorax (increasing its volume)
- Simultaneously, activation of the motor neurones in the intercostal nerves to the EXTERNAL intercostal muscles, causes them to contract - resulting in an upward and outward movement of the ribs and a further increase in thoracic volume
- As the thorax expands the intrapleural pressure is being lowered and the transpulmonary pressure is becoming more positive - resulting in lung
expansion since the force acting to expand the lungs (transpulmonary pressure) is becoming greater than that of the elastic recoil exerted by the lungs - The lung expansion results in the alveolar pressure becoming negative
- This results in an inward airflow
- At the end of inspiration, the chest wall is no longer expanding but has yet to start passive recoil, since lung size is not changing and the glottis is open at this point
- alveolar pressure = atmospheric pressure, since the elastic recoil of the lungs has been balanced by the transpulmonary pressure - resulting in no airflow
Describe the process of expiration?
1At the end of inspiration, the motor neurones to the diaphragm and external intercostal muscles decrease their firing so these muscles can relax - the
diaphragm ascends thereby decreasing thoracic volume
2
As they relax, the lungs and chest walls start to passively collapse due to elastic recoil - this is because the muscle relaxation causes the intrapleural pressure to increase, thereby decreasing the transpulmonary pressure (becomes more negative), this results in the transpulmonary pressure acting to expand the lungs
becoming less than the elastic recoil acting to reduce the lungs eventually resulting in the lungs passively collapsing
3
As the lungs become smaller, air in the alveoli becomes temporarily compressed resulting in an increase in alveolar pressure i.e it becomes more positive and exceeds atmospheric pressure resulting in air flowing outwards
• Thus it can be seen that EXPIRATION AT REST is PASSIVE relying only on the relaxation of the external intercostal muscles and diaphragm and the elastic
recoil of the lungs
Describe the process of forced expiration?
- On top of the actions mentioned in expiration at rest, the INTERNAL intercostal muscles also contract as do the abdominal muscles
- This results in the ribs moving downwards and inwards - actively decreasing thoracic volume, and the abdominal muscle contraction results in an increase in
intra-abdominal pressure - thereby forcing the relaxed diaphragm further up into the thorax - further decreasing thoracic volume - Resulting in a greater than normal volume of air being expired
Which airway has the highest resistance?
When air is breathed in or out there is some resistance generated by the airways. The airway with the GREATEST RESISTANCE is the TRACHEA - this is
because although the bronchioles for examples are small, and thus you’d think they’d offer the most resistance, in fact if you add them all up they provide much more surface area meaning they will provide less RESISTANCE than the trachea which has a much smaller surface area than ALL the bronchioles meaning it will provide the MOST RESISTANCE
Define Dead Space?
Dead space: the volume of air not contributing to ventilation ( anatomically theres is
around 150mls of this and in the alveolar there is around 25mls thus in the lungs in
total there is 175mls of dead space in total)
• Occurs in between the alveoli & capillaries
What is the total combined area for gas exchange?
the total combined area for gas exchange is 40-100m2
How many layers must O2 diffuse through?
When O2 diffuses from the alveoli into the pulmonary capillaries & CO2 diffuses
from the pulmonary capillaries into the alveoli the gases must diffuse through 7
layers [we will look at it from O2 perspective i.e. from the alveoli into the capillaries]:
1. Alveolar epithelium
2. Tissue interstitium
3. Capillary endothelium
4. Plasma Layer
5. Red cell membrane
6. Red cell cytoplasm
7. Haemoglobin binding
What is ventilation perfusion matching?
To be most efficient, the correct proportion of alveolar airflow (ventilation) and capillary blood flow (perfusion) shows be available to each alveolus
What is the term for mismatching and what is the consequence?
Any mismatching is termed ventilation-perfusion inequality
• The main effect of ventilation-perfusion inequality is that the partial pressure of
oxygen (PO2) is decreased in systemic-arterial blood
Can V/Q mismatch occur in a healthy individual?
there is naturally some ventilation-perfusion inequality as it is, enough to reduce the arterial PO2 5mmHg - this is due to gravitational effects. One effect of an upright posture is to increase the filling of blood vessels at the bottom of the lung due to gravity, which contributes to the difference in blood-flow distribution in the lung. This concept explains why on average, the PO2 in the alveoli is roughly 5mmHg higher than in the arterial blood
How can regional changes in lung compliance, airway resistance, and vascular resistance cause significant ventilation-perfusion inequalities?
As a direct consequence of disease, regional changes in lung compliance, airway resistance and vascular resistance can cause significant ventilation-perfusion
inequalities.
The two extremes are:
1. There may be ventilated alveoli but no blood supply at all (known as dead space
or wasted ventilation) due to a blood clot for example
2. There may be adequate blood flow through the areas of the lung but there is no
ventilation (this is termed shunt) due to collapsed alveoli
What is the mechanism of Hypoxic Pulmonary Constriction?
A decrease in ventilation within a group of alveoli - as a result of a mucous plug blocking the small airways, for example, will lead to a decrease in alveolar PO2 and in the area around it, including the blood vessels
- This decrease in the partial pressure of O2 in the alveoli and nearby blood vessels leads to VASOCONSTRICTION - diverting blood away from the poorly ventilated area
- This effect is unique to the pulmonary arterial vessels (since in systemic circulation the opposite would occur) - it ensures that blood flow is directed away from diseases areas of the lung toward areas that are well-ventilated
What is the mechanism of Local Bronchoconstriction?
If there is a local decrease in blood flow within a lung region due to, for example, a small blood clot in a pulmonary arteriole.
- The local decrease in blood flow will mean there is less systemic CO2 in the area,resulting in a local decrease of the partial pressure of CO2
- This results in BRONCHOCONSTRICTION which diverts airflow away to areas of the lung with better perfusion
• Both the factors mentioned above greatly improve the efficiency of pulmonary gas exchange - but they are NOT PERFECT even in a healthy lung - there is ALWAYS a small ventilation-perfusion mismatch which leads to the normal alveolar-arterial O2 gradient of about 5mmHg
What is PaCO2?
Arterial CO2
What is PACO2?
Alveolar CO2
What is PaO2?
Arterial O2
What is PAO2?
Alveolar O2
What is PIO2?
Pressure of Inspired Oxygen
What is V̇A?
Alveolar ventilation
What is V̇CO2?
CO2 production