Tag: airway
- Structural Pressures Of The Airway Associated With Positive Pressure Ventilation ()
Airway Wall Pressure In normal respiration, the patient’s diaphragm and intercostal pull on the lungs to make them larger to create a vacuum that pulls air into the lungs. Since the lungs are creating a vacuum (negative pressure) to pull in the air, there is little or no chance of over-inflation in increased pressure on […]
- Assessment of Adequate and Inadequate Ventilation ()
The primary survey is where we figure out if the patient is conscious or needs ventilation During the primary survey, the ambulance crew meets the patient face to face and makes some quick observations. Is the patient conscious and talking? If so the airway is clear. Is the patient not alert (not talking)? Then the […]
- 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 […]
- More Anatomy of Respiratory System ()
When the intercostal muscles contract, the ribs are displaced outwardly (inhalation). The lungs are attached to the ribs and are stretched in all directions. The stretching of the lungs creates a vacuum (the air pressure inside the lungs becomes less than atmospheric air) and the air from outside the body is drawn into the lungs. […]
- 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 […]
- Typical Causes of Airway Obstruction ()
Tongue-Related Airway ObstructionA relaxed tongue is the most common cause of upper airway obstruction in patients who are unconscious or who have suffered spinal cord or other neurological injuries. The tongue may relax into the airway, causing an obstruction. In some cases, other injuries complicate this phenomenon. For example, a patient who is unconscious following […]
- How People Die: Suffocation ()
There are numerous ways a person can be suffocated (the process of asphyxiation). Sometimes there is nothing structurally wrong with the airway, but something wrong with the air itself (low oxygen environment, poison gases). Perhaps the patient is suffocating because the there is a problem not with the airway, but the lungs. An infection of […]
- How People Die: Choking ()
The human body is replete with a host of defense mechanisms that protect from microorganisms, the environment, insects, etc. The most vulnerable target on the human body is the airway. Airway is the term used to describe the circuit that brings air from the environment and into the lungs. There are numerous reflexes, structures, and […]