Tag: respiratory
- How To Assess Breathing In Conscious Patients ()
Conscious patients are easier to determine airway and breathing status When a patient is conscious and experiencing respiratory distress, they usually just tell anyone that will listen that they can’t breath. Nonetheless, clues abound for the respiratory distress patient: Rapid respiratory rate The patient lungs make sounds as they breathe The patient is unable to […]
- How People Die: Suffocation ()
The most common reason people call 911 is for respiratory distress. In most jurisdictions, 40% of all calls are because the patient is experiencing shortness of breath. Shortness of breath can be caused by many conditions, however varied, the conditions always come down to three root causes: Problems with pulmonary ventilation Problems with oxygenation Problems […]
- Physiology of Respiration ()
Pulmonary ventilation refers to the movement of air in and out of the lungs Ventilation is defined as the movement of air in and out of the lungs. Patient with adequate ventilation are moving normal or near normal volumes of air into and out of the lungs. The pulmonary capillary beds are where oxygen is […]
- Anatomy of The Lower Airway ()
The lower respiratory tract or lower airway consists of the trachea, bronchi (primary, secondary and tertiary), bronchioles (including terminal and respiratory), and lungs (including alveoli). It also sometimes includes the larynx. The lower respiratory tract is also called the respiratory tree or tracheobronchial tree, to describe the branching structure of airways supplying air to the […]
- Anatomy of Upper Airway ()
The pharynx is the mucous membrane-lined portion of the airway between the base of the skull and the esophagus and is subdivided as follows: Nasopharynx, also known as the rhino-pharynx, post-nasal space, is the muscular tube from the nares, including the posterior nasal cavity, divided from the oropharynx by the palate and lining the skull base […]
- Respiratory Compromise ()
A patient who is experiencing respiratory distress can develop respiratory compromise. It is the goal of the EMS crew to delay or reverse respiratory compromise. Failure reverse respiratory compromise will result in respiratory failure. Exactly when the patient transitions to respiratory compromise from respiratory distress is not entirely defined, however some changes in the function […]
- Gas Transport Disturbances ()
Oxygen Transport Disturbances The oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin determines how much oxygen is carried in the blood. Other environmental factors and diseases can affect oxygen carrying capacity and delivery. Carbon dioxide levels, blood pH, and body temperature affect oxygen-carrying capacity. When carbon dioxide is in the blood, it reacts with water to form bicarbonate and hydrogen ions. As […]
- How Cells Breathe ()
Gas exchange occurs in the alveoli so that oxygen is loaded into the bloodstream and carbon dioxide is unloaded from the bloodstream. Afterwards, oxygen is brought to the left side of the heart via the pulmonary vein, which pumps it into systemic circulation. Red blood cells carry the oxygen into the capillaries of the tissues […]
- How Gases are Transported In The Body ()
Matter is typically conveyed in 3 states. The state that one finds the matter depends on air pressure (or lack thereof, say, in a vacuum) and temperature. Iron, a solid at room temperature, becomes a liquid at 2800 degrees Fahrenheit (really, REALLY hot) and a gas at 5182 degrees Fahrenheit (about half the temperature of the sun). […]
- How People Die: VQ Mismatch ()
Oxygen is an essential element for life and without oxygen humans can survive for few minutes only. There should be a balance between oxygen demand and delivery in order to maintain homeostasis within the body. The two main organ systems responsible for oxygen delivery in the body and maintaining homeostasis are respiratory and cardiovascular system. […]