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Related Concept Videos

Breathing01:05

Breathing

The process of breathing, inhaling and exhaling, involves the coordinated movement of the chest wall, the lungs, and the muscles that move them. Two muscle groups with important roles in breathing are the diaphragm, located directly below the lungs, and the intercostal muscles, which lie between the ribs. When the diaphragm contracts, it moves downward, increasing the volume of the thoracic cavity and creating more room for the lungs to expand. When the intercostal muscles contract, the ribs...
Pressure Relationships in Thoracic Cavity01:24

Pressure Relationships in Thoracic Cavity

Breathing, otherwise known as pulmonary ventilation, is the process of air movement into and out of the lungs. The main mechanisms propelling pulmonary ventilation are atmospheric pressure (Patm), intra-pulmonary (Ppul ) or intra-alveolar pressure (Palv) within the alveoli, and intrapleural pressure (Pip) within the pleural cavity.
Breathing Mechanisms
Both intra-alveolar and intrapleural pressures rely on specific lung properties. The ability to breathe—allowing air to enter the lungs during...
Pulmonary Cycle: Exhalation01:17

Pulmonary Cycle: Exhalation

In terms of human respiration, the act of expelling air, known as exhalation (or expiration), operates on the principle of pressure gradients. During expiration, the pressure within the lungs exceeds that of the surrounding atmosphere. Under normal conditions, quiet breathing involves passive exhalation and is free of muscular contractions. This is because the exhalation process is driven by the natural elastic recoil of the lungs and chest wall, both of which have an inherent tendency to...
Factors Affecting Pulmonary Ventilation01:19

Factors Affecting Pulmonary Ventilation

Besides the pressure difference between the external environment and the lungs, the airflow rate and ease of pulmonary ventilation are also influenced by three other factors: surface tension of the fluid in the alveoli, compliance of the lungs, and airway resistance.
Alveolar Surface Tension
The alveolar fluid lines the luminal surface of the alveoli and exerts a force called surface tension. This force is caused by the polar water molecules in the liquid being more strongly attracted to each...
Physical Principles Governing Gas Exchange01:16

Physical Principles Governing Gas Exchange

Gas behavior plays a vital role in understanding bodily processes such as external and internal respiration. External respiration involves the diffusion of oxygen into the blood and carbon dioxide out of it in the lungs. In contrast, internal respiration happens in body tissues, where these gases move in opposite directions.
Gas Laws Governing Respiration
The behavior of gases is guided by Dalton's Law of partial pressures and Henry's Law.
Dalton's Law asserts that the total pressure exerted by...
Application of Integration: Problem Solving01:30

Application of Integration: Problem Solving

The process of breathing involves the periodic intake and expulsion of air, known as the respiratory cycle, which typically lasts about five seconds. Modeling the volume of air inhaled into the lungs as a function of time provides insight into both the dynamics and efficiency of pulmonary ventilation. This volume is determined by integrating the airflow rate over time, which captures the cumulative effect of air entering the lungs.Sinusoidal Model of AirflowAirflow during respiration is not...

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Combining Volumetric Capnography And Barometric Plethysmography To Measure The Lung Structure-function Relationship
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Physiology: Dynamic instabilities in the inflating lung.

Adriano M Alencar1, Stephen P Arold, Sergey V Buldyrev

  • 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. adriano@bu.edu

Nature
|June 21, 2002
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Lung airways can collapse in diseases like asthma. Modeling this reveals "avalanche shocks" causing negative elastic resistance, improving understanding of deep lung aeration for impaired gas exchange conditions.

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Area of Science:

  • Pulmonary medicine
  • Biophysics
  • Fluid dynamics

Background:

  • Lung diseases like asthma limit expiratory flow, leading to airway collapse and compromised gas exchange.
  • Understanding the mechanics of lung inflation, especially in collapsed regions, is crucial for respiratory health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To model the inflation dynamics of collapsed lung regions during inspiration.
  • To investigate the phenomenon of dynamic pressure instabilities and their relation to lung mechanics.
  • To provide insights into aeration of deep lung regions and its implications for respiratory diseases.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a model of lung inflation using avalanches propagating through a bifurcating airway network.
  • Analyzed the cascade of dynamic pressure instabilities, termed 'avalanche shocks'.
  • Investigated the thermodynamic implications of these instabilities, specifically negative elastic resistance.

Main Results:

  • The inflation of collapsed lung regions can be modeled as avalanches in the airway network.
  • Avalanche shocks result in dynamic pressure instabilities, manifesting as negative elastic resistance.
  • This negative elastic resistance is an apparent thermodynamic paradox explained by the avalanche model.

Conclusions:

  • The avalanche model provides a novel explanation for lung inflation dynamics in collapsed regions.
  • Understanding negative elastic resistance offers new insights into aeration in deep lung areas.
  • Findings may inform treatments for medical conditions with impaired gas exchange, such as severe asthma.