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The Hering–Breuer inflation reflex, named for Josef Breuer and Ewald Hering, [1] [2] [3] is a reflex triggered to prevent the over-inflation of the lung. Pulmonary stretch receptors present on the wall of bronchi and bronchioles of the airways respond to excessive stretching of the lung during large inspirations.
Doing spirometry. Spirometry (meaning the measuring of breath) is the most common of the pulmonary function tests (PFTs). It measures lung function, specifically the amount (volume) and/or speed (flow) of air that can be inhaled and exhaled.
Wheezes, describing a continuous musical sound on expiration or inspiration. A wheeze is the result of narrowed airways. Common causes include asthma and emphysema. [20] Rhonchi (an increasingly obsolete term) characterised by low pitched, musical bubbly sounds heard on inspiration and expiration. Rhonchi are the result of viscous fluid in the ...
Pulmonary compliance is calculated using the following equation, where ΔV is the change in volume, and ΔP is the change in pleural pressure: = For example, if a patient inhales 500 mL of air from a spirometer with an intrapleural pressure before inspiration of −5 cm H 2 O and −10 cm H 2 O at the end of inspiration.
Exhalation (or expiration) is the flow of the breath out of an organism. In animals, it is the movement of air from the lungs out of the airways , to the external environment during breathing . This happens due to elastic properties of the lungs, as well as the internal intercostal muscles which lower the rib cage and decrease thoracic volume.
Phase II of expiration is when the CO 2 within the lungs is forced up the respiratory tract on its way to leave the body, which causes mixing of the air from the dead space with the air in the functional alveoli responsible for gas exchange. Phase III is the final portion of expiration which reflects CO 2 only from the alveoli and not the dead ...
Pleural effusions collect in the costodiaphragmatic recess when in standing position, [2] and present on plain X-rays as "blunting" of the costophrenic angle.. A thoracocentesis (pleural tap) is often performed here while a patient is in full expiration because of less risk of puncturing the lungs and thereby causing pneumothorax.
Airway resistance can also vary between inspiration and expiration: In emphysema there is destruction of the elastic tissue of the lungs which help hold the small airways open. Therefore, during expiration, particularly forced expiration, these airways may collapse causing increased airway resistance.