Tough Sci / Tech Trivia: The Respiratory System | 10 Questions

Answer: Pleura

The pleura is a double layered serous membrane that covers the lungs (the pulmonary or visceral pleura) and lines the walls of the thoracic cavity (the parietal pleura). The potential space between the two layers is called the pleural cavity.

Answer: Pneumothorax

When air or gas escapes from the lung tissue into the chest cavity, it forces the lung to deflate, rather like a balloon. It may happen spontaneously in the setting of a pulmonary disease, or it may follow trauma to the chest wall. A haemothorax is a collection of blood in the pleural cavity, and a haemopneumothorax is a collection of air and blood.

Answer: Carina

The carina is the keel shaped cartilage at the base of the trachea where it branches into the right and left main bronchi. It sits approximately the level of the aortic arch, the fifth thoracic vertebra, or just below the level of the angle of Louis.

Answer: A partial collapse of some alveoli

Atelectasis may result from imperfect expansion of the lungs at birth, or as a result of disease when the small air passages are narrowed and air cannot reach the alveoli.

Answer: Asthma

Asthma needs no introduction. The majority of children with asthma experience its onset within the first two years of life, but it can occur in those as young as a few weeks. Attacks can vary greatly from occasional periods of wheezing and slight dyspnoea to severe attacks that almost cause suffocation.

Answer: Interstitial dead space

Interstitial refers to the areas between parts of a tissue, and most commonly refers to the fluid bathing the cells.
Anatomic dead space includes the conducting airways- trachea, bronchi and bronchioles.
Alveolar dead space occurs when alveoli receive oxygen but are not perfused by blood, i.e. with an embolism.
Physiologic dead space is a combination of both anatomical and alveolar dead space.

Answer: Subluxation

Subluxation is actually a partial dislocation of a joint. Nothing at all to do with ARDS!
Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is a ventilatory strategy used to keep alveoli open.
Pronation means to turn over- in this case the patient is turned onto their stomach.
Nitric oxide is an inhaled pulmonary vasodilator used to dilate the blood vessels in the lungs, allowing for greater blood flow and therefore a greater gas exchange.

Answer: Pleural effusion

A pleural effusion is not normal. It is a collection of fluid, pus or blood that collects between the two layers of the pleura.
Costophrenic angles are the acute angles formed by the lower lobe of each lung and the diaphragm.
The mediastinum is the area between the lungs, which contains the heart, great vessels, and the oesophagus.
The horizontal fissure is not always seen, but it is the fold of pleural membrane that separates the upper and middle lobes of the right lung. It may be seen as a faint line at the level of the 6th rib.

Answer: Diffusion

Diffusion is the intermixing of gases or molecules from a higher concentration to a lower concentration so they are equally distributed.
Osmosis refers to the movement of fluids from a higher to a lower concentration.
Convection is the movement of solutes by an externally driven force. It is used in renal dialysis.
Active transport is a renal concept when a substance binds with a carrier in order to cross a semipermeable membrane.

Answer: Oxy-haemoglobin dissociation curve

The oxy-haemoglobin curve is a graphical illustration of the relationship between dissolved and bound oxygen in the blood. The affinity of oxygen is responsible for the position of the curve wherein a given Pao2 yields a predictable oxygen saturation.