HRM C93 RESPIRATORY FUNCTIONS AND GAS
EXCHANGE STUDY GUIDE LATEST UPDATED WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS RATED A WESTERN
GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY
,What Are Pulmonary Functions?
o gas exchange (oxygen is transported to tissues + CO^2 is a waste product taken out
of the body) in 3-step process: ventilation, perfusion, & diffusion
o regulation of blood pH
o filtration and protection from dust, microbes, harmful particles
Functional Anatomy
Pulmonary Anatomy
Upper Airway Structures
o nasopharynx
o oropharynx
o laryngopharynx
CONDUCTING PORTION
(carry air to alveoli for gas
exchange)
Lower Airway Structures
o larynx
o trachea
o bronchi
o bronchopulmonary
segments
o terminal bronchioles
o alveoli
RESPIRATORY PORTION (gas
exchange)
Upper Respiratory System
, - consists of nasopharyngeal cavity: naso, oro, laryngopharynx
- the nasal cavity conducts gases to and from the lungs
- filters, warms, & humidifies air
- composed of 2/3 cartilage and 1/3 bone (prevents collapse during
ventilation)
- convoluted turbinates (cone-shaped bone within nasal cavity) are highly vascular
and help to exchange heat in blood flow
- air is filtered by large hairs (vibrissae) of nasal cavity mucus and cilia (sweep
foreign particles into nasopharynx) to be swallowed or expelled
- pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium lines the trachea and bronchi
- goblet cells + mucus-producing glands are responsible for mucus production
(containing 95% water + mucoproteins, mucopolysaccharides, & lipids)
- maintenance of fluid balance is important for expelling foreign particles
- children have more mucus-producing glands
PATHOLOGY:
child w/ small airway size + overproduction of mucus causes tracheobronchial
obstruction (can’t get air out)
cilia is primary defense mechanism of the tracheobronchial tree
can be impaired by smoking, alcohol, hypothermia, hyperthermia, low humidity,
starvation, anesthetics, colds, increases in mucus
4 PARANASAL SINUSES (frontal, ethmoid, sphenoid, maxillary):
- air-containing spaces adjacent to the nasal passages that provide speech
resonance and increase surface area for heat + vapor exchange
- swept clean by mucociliary action in communication w/ nasal passages
- eustachian tube b/w middle ear and posterior nasopharynx maintains air in
the middle ear at atm pressure (closes eustachian tube during eating, so
fluid/food does not get into ear)
PATHOLOGY:
eustachian tube is much shorter in children, high susceptibility for otitis media
(infection of the middle ear)
o Larynx
o air passes through nasal cavity or oral cavity into the pharynx, into the
larynx, and finally tracheobronchial tree
o transitional area b/w upper and lower airways (considered part of the lower
airway), BUT functionally it is similar to upper airway
EXCHANGE STUDY GUIDE LATEST UPDATED WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS RATED A WESTERN
GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY
,What Are Pulmonary Functions?
o gas exchange (oxygen is transported to tissues + CO^2 is a waste product taken out
of the body) in 3-step process: ventilation, perfusion, & diffusion
o regulation of blood pH
o filtration and protection from dust, microbes, harmful particles
Functional Anatomy
Pulmonary Anatomy
Upper Airway Structures
o nasopharynx
o oropharynx
o laryngopharynx
CONDUCTING PORTION
(carry air to alveoli for gas
exchange)
Lower Airway Structures
o larynx
o trachea
o bronchi
o bronchopulmonary
segments
o terminal bronchioles
o alveoli
RESPIRATORY PORTION (gas
exchange)
Upper Respiratory System
, - consists of nasopharyngeal cavity: naso, oro, laryngopharynx
- the nasal cavity conducts gases to and from the lungs
- filters, warms, & humidifies air
- composed of 2/3 cartilage and 1/3 bone (prevents collapse during
ventilation)
- convoluted turbinates (cone-shaped bone within nasal cavity) are highly vascular
and help to exchange heat in blood flow
- air is filtered by large hairs (vibrissae) of nasal cavity mucus and cilia (sweep
foreign particles into nasopharynx) to be swallowed or expelled
- pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium lines the trachea and bronchi
- goblet cells + mucus-producing glands are responsible for mucus production
(containing 95% water + mucoproteins, mucopolysaccharides, & lipids)
- maintenance of fluid balance is important for expelling foreign particles
- children have more mucus-producing glands
PATHOLOGY:
child w/ small airway size + overproduction of mucus causes tracheobronchial
obstruction (can’t get air out)
cilia is primary defense mechanism of the tracheobronchial tree
can be impaired by smoking, alcohol, hypothermia, hyperthermia, low humidity,
starvation, anesthetics, colds, increases in mucus
4 PARANASAL SINUSES (frontal, ethmoid, sphenoid, maxillary):
- air-containing spaces adjacent to the nasal passages that provide speech
resonance and increase surface area for heat + vapor exchange
- swept clean by mucociliary action in communication w/ nasal passages
- eustachian tube b/w middle ear and posterior nasopharynx maintains air in
the middle ear at atm pressure (closes eustachian tube during eating, so
fluid/food does not get into ear)
PATHOLOGY:
eustachian tube is much shorter in children, high susceptibility for otitis media
(infection of the middle ear)
o Larynx
o air passes through nasal cavity or oral cavity into the pharynx, into the
larynx, and finally tracheobronchial tree
o transitional area b/w upper and lower airways (considered part of the lower
airway), BUT functionally it is similar to upper airway
