Lung Function

Lung Function

Measurements of lung function tend to be made using two pieces of equipment called a peak flow meter and/or a spirometer.

A peak flow meter measures the rate at which a patient expel air into a handheld tube, this can be used to monitor conditions such as asthma.

A spirometer is where patients breathe in and out of a mouthpiece attached to a sealed chamber where oxygen from the chamber is used up this can be used to measure many different lung components when a pencil attached to a rotating drum can create a trace on a spirometry graph paper.

Total lung capacity: Vital capacity + residual volume

Residual volume: is the volume remaining in the lungs even after a person has exhaled with maximum force.

Vital capacity: is the maximum volume that can be breathed out following the strongest possible inhalation (i.e. tidal volume + inspiratory reserve volume + expiratory reserve volume)

Tidal Volume: is the volume inhaled with each resting breath (or the volume exhaled with each resting breath)

Inspiratory and expiratory reserve volumes are the additional volumes of air that can be breathed in and out during forced inhalation and exhalation.

vital capacity can potentially be defined and measured in two ways it can either the maximum volume of air exhaled following the strongest possible inhalation or the maximum volume inhaled following the strongest possible exhalation and both values should be the same.

Breathing rate=The number of breath per minute.

Ventilation rate= The total volume inhaled per minute=Breathing rate X Tidal volume

**STAY POSITIVE LIKE A PROTON!**