Respiratory System Flashcards
What are the functions of the respiratory system?
- gas exchange
- host defence
- metabolism of endogenous and exogenous molecules
What is the health burden of respiratory disease?
1 in 5 people in the UK die from respiratory disease
Most common = lung cancer, pneumonia &
COPD 1 in 8 admissions are due to COPD
What are common symptoms associated with lung disease?
- shortness of breath
- cough
- sputum production
- blood stained sputum (haemptysis)
- chest pain
- hypersomnolance
Give examples of infectious lung disease?
- TB - infective bronchitis
- pneumonia
- empyema
Give examples of pulmonary vascular disease?
pulmonary emboli, pulmonary hypertension
Give example of some localised obstructive airway disease.
Sleep apnoea, laryngeal carcinoma, thyroid enlargement, vocal cord dysfunction, tumours, foreign bodies, bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Give examples of some generalised obstructive airway disease.
Asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis, obliterative bonchiolitis
Give examples of some small lung disorders (restrictive) that occur within the lung.
Sarcoidosis, asbestos exposure, extrinsic allergic alveolitis
Give examples of some small lung disorders (restrictive) that occur outside of the lung.
Pleural effusions, pneumothorax, scoliosis, respiratory muscle weakness and obesity
What is dyspnoea?
Dyspnoea is a sensation of difficult, laboured or uncomfortable breathing
What is the role of nasal cavities?
Filtering air, conserving heat and water from expired air while warming and humidifying inspired air.
Why do we switch to breathing through our mouths when exercising?
Due to the complex structure of the nasal cavities breathing through our nose has a high resistance to airflow so when breathing demands go up we switch to breathing through our mouths which has a lower resistance.
What features are in place in the respiratory system to prevent airway or alveolar collapse?
- in alveoli surfactant acts as a lubricant protecting against collapse
- in the trachea and large bronchi cartilaginous c-rings hold the airways open
- In branching bronchi as cartilaginous components decrease till they are not present smooth muscle increases holding airways open.
How does blood circulate through the pulmonary system?
deoxygenated blood enters right atrium → right ventricle → contraction forces blood into pulmonary trunk → travels through left and right pulmonary arteries → goes through arterioles → alveolar capillaries where gas exchange occurs → oxygenated blood travels through venules → pulmonary veins → blood enters left atrium
What is minute ventilation?
The volume of air expired in one minute or per minute
What is alveolar ventilation?
The volume of air reaching the respiration zone
What is hyper/hypopnoea?
Increased/decreased depth of breathing
What is tidal volume? What is it roughly when at rest for a 70kg man.
Tidal volume (TV or Vt) is the volume of air inspired and expired during regular breathing.
- 500mL for a 70kg man at rest
What is inspiratory reserve volume? What would it be for a 70kg man at rest? Why do we need it?
The inspiratory reserve volume (IRV) is the volume of air that can be inspired after a tidal inspiration.
- around 2.7 L for a 70kg man
this is needed for coughing and exercise
What is expiratory reserve volume? What would it be for a 70kg man at rest?
Expiratory reserve volume (ERV) is the volume of air that can be expired after a tidal expiration.
- approximately 1.3L in a 70kg man
What is residual volume? What is the approximate value for healthy adults?
Residual volume (RV) is the volume of air that cannot be emptied from the lungs, no matter how hard you expire. This is fixed because of the lung-chest wall interface
- approximately 1.2L in healthy adults This residual volume helps to maintain open distal airways
What is total lung capacity? What volume do you combine to calculate it (equation)?
Total lung capacity = the maximum capacity of the lungs (around 6L in 70kg man)
Total lung capacity = RV + IRV+ TV +ERV
- residual volume + inspiratory reserve volume + tidal volume + expiratory reserve volume
What is functional residual capacity? How would you calculate it from volumes?
Functional residual capacity = The volume of air in the lungs following a tidal expiration at rest. The capacity represents the “default” volume of the lungs, when the lung recoil inwards and the chest recoil outwards are in equilibrium
Function residual capacity = RV + ERV
- residual volume + expiratory residual volume
What is the inspiratory capacity? How would you calculate it from volumes?
Inspiratory capacity = the maximum volume of air the lungs can draw in from the equilibrium functional residual capacity point
Inspiratory capacity = TV +IRV
- tidal volume + inspiratory reserve volume
What is the vital capacity? How would you calculate it from volumes?
Vital capacity = The volume of air between the maximum and minimum achievable volumes
Vital capacity = TLC - RV OR IRV + TV + ERV
- total lung capacity - residual volume
- the critical value of 1L is used to assess whether a patient can maintain spontaneous ventilation or requires assistance
What factors can effect lung volumes and capacities?
Body size, gender, fitness, disease and age
What is the conducting zone? What make up the conducting zone?
The conducting zone is as inspired air passes through velocity decreases and surface area increases. Important in defence, speech and preparation for gas exchange. Trachea, main bronchi, bronchi, bronchioles and terminal bronchioles
What is the respiratory zone? What makes up the respiratory zone?
Here the surface area is used for gas exchange. Made up of alveolar ducts and sacks
What is anatomical dead space?
Areas that aren’t involved in gas exchange. Anatomical dead space includes conducting airways and upper respiratory tract. To measure this a dilution test is needed. Note that intubation increases this
What is alveolar dead space?
Areas of respiratory tissue (i.e. alveoli) that are unable to participate in gas exchange. Death of alveolar usually due to absent/inadequate blood flow. in a healthy lung this is almost 0
What is the physiological dead space?
The alveolar dead space + anatomical dead space
What is transpulmonary pressure?
the difference between the alveolar sacs and pleural cavity
What is transthoracic pressure?
difference between pleural cavity and atmosphere
What is transrespiratory pressure?
the difference between alveolar sacs and atmosphere
What sort of pressure breathing is normal breathing?
negative pressure breathing When inspiring the movement of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles causes pleural pressure to decrease and the visceral pleura is pulled out inflating the lung
What can be measured from a volume- time curve?
The test allows you to measure forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) This allows calculation of FEV1/FCV ratio which can used to diagnose pathologies FET = forced expiratory time which is the time taken to expel all lungs from air (not commonly used)
What would you expect to see on volume - time curve from someone with obstructive lung disease in comparison to a normal individual?
In obstructive lung disease:
- FEV1 would be much lower
- FET much higher
- FVC lower
- FEV1/FVC low
This is all due to narrow airways
What would you expect to see on volume - time curve from someone with restrictive lung disease in comparison to a normal individual?
In restrictive lung disease:
- FVC is lower
- FEV1 is relatively high (just a little lower than normal)
- FEV1/FVC is normal
- they don’t have narrow airways but their thorax expansion is limited
What would the flow-volume loop of someone with mild obstructive disease look like compared to normal?
What changes to volumes may there be and why?
flow -volume loop: displaced to the left, indented exhalation curve
RV and TLC are elevated
This is due to milk breakdown of lung parenchymal tissue and hyperinflation of lungs. Mild ‘coving’ of expiration suggest obstruction of small airways
What are the phases shown on this Flow-volume loop? (labelled A-F)
A = gentle tidal inspiration
B = gentle expiration caused by passive recoil of lung
C = moderate inspiration to total lung capacity
D = maximal expiration (phase 1)
E = maximal expiration (phase 2) - as airways empty the rate of expiartin slows steadily untl residual volume has been reached
F = ispiration to total lung capacity (mediated by inspiratory muscles)
What would the flow-volume loop of someone with restrictive disease look like compared to normal?
What changes to volumes may there be and why?
Flow - volume loop: displacement to the right and narrower curve
narrow x-axis difference indicating decreased TLV. there is impaired flow rates for inspiration and expiration
What would the flow-volume loop of someone with severe obstructive disease look like compared to normal?
What changes to volumes may there be and why?
Flow -volume loop: The curve would be shorter, displaced to the left and indentented expiration curve
Rv is larger and coving is more pronounced. There is a decreasing peak expiratory flow rate due to increasing narrow airways
What would the flow-volume loop of someone with variable extra-thoracic disease look like compared to normal?
What changes to volumes may there be and why?
Flow-volume loop: blunted inspiration curve, but otherwise normal.
the inspiratory curve is flattened due to obstruction outside of the throax (maybe in upper airway)
What would the flow-volume loop of someone with variable intra-thoracic disease look like compared to normal?
What changes to volumes may there be and why?
Flow-volume loop: blunted expiratory curve, but otherwise normal
Obstruction within thorax e.g in trachea that prevents expiration
What would the flow-volume loop of someone with fixed airway obstruction look like compared to normal?
What changes to volumes may there be and why?
Flow -volume loop: has blunted inspiration and expiration
What is ventilation - perfusion ratio (V/Q)?
The ideal circumstance where blood only goes to areas that are being ventilated.
- The ratio denotes the volume of ventilation per litre of perfusion
- high ratio is associated with poorly perfused areas
- Low ratio with poorly ventilated areas
This is a measure of the wasted ventilation (alveoli ventilated with no blood supply) and wasted perfusion (perfused non-ventilating alveoli)
What is Fick law?
Molecules diffuse from regions of high concentration to low concentration at a rate proportional to the concentration gradient, the exchange surface area and the diffusion capacity of the gas, and inversely proportional to the thickness of the exchange surface
What are the standard oxygen blood gases at different part of the circulatory system?
- alveolar, arteriole, tissue and venous
Alveolar: 13.5 kPa
Arteriole: 13.3 kPa
Tissue: 5.3 kPa
Venous: 5.3 kPa