ANPS 020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Intrapleural Pressure, Breathing

• School: University of Vermont
• Department: Anatomy/Physiology
• Course: ANPS 020
• Professor: Black

Document Summary

Pulmonary ventilation consists of inspiration and expiration which are dependent on air pressure gradients. Expiration = air flows out of lungs. Atmospheric pressure = pressure exerted by the air on the body. At sea level, atmospheric pressure = 760 mm hg = 1 atm. By convention we will consider atmospheric pressure = 0 mm hg, so we don"t have to consider altitude. We really only care about pressure relationships, not specific numbers. Air will always flow from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. Will oscillate with breathing, but always equalize to atmospheric pressure in between breaths. Will oscillate with breathing, but always negative to intrapulmonary pressure. Balance between tendency of alveoli/lungs to collapse and tendency of thoracic cavity to expand. Boyle"s law the pressure of a gas within a container is inversely related to the volume of the container. If the volume of a container that contains a gas is reduced, the pressure increases.