22. The Respiratory System

Which muscle is likely to be contracting while blowing up a balloon?

If you swallow a large bite of food without properly chewing it first, you will feel discomfort during ventilation. Explain this, considering the arrangement of the trachea and the esophagus.

During expiration, which action contributes to the movement of air out of the lungs during eupnea, or quiet breathing?

A member of the 'Blues' gang was rushed into an emergency room after receiving a knife wound in the left side of his thorax. The diagnosis was pneumothorax and a collapsed lung. Explain exactly

Why the lung collapsed?

Why only one lung (not both) collapsed?

Under ordinary circumstances, the inflation reflex is initiated by:

a. Noxious chemicals

b. The ventral respiratory group

c. Overinflation of the alveoli and bronchioles

d. The pontine respiratory centers

Which muscle is used for inspiration during both eupnea and forced breathing?

Match each term with the correct definition. 

Airway resistance     

Surface tension     

Surfactant     

Pulmonary compliance     

V/Q ratio

a. A detergent-like chemical secreted by bronchial smooth muscle that reduces surface tension

b. The matching of ventilation to perfusion

c. Largely determined by the diameter of the airways

d. Caused by the formation of hydrogen bonds between water molecules

e. Determined by the surface tension of the alveoli, the elastic tissue of the lungs, and the condition of the chest wall