Lecture

Respiratory System Function: Gas Exchange and Transport

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In course

BIO-377: Physiology by systems

Le but est de connaitre et comprendre le fonctionnement des systèmes cardiovasculaire, urinaire, respiratoire, digestif, ainsi que du métabolisme de base et sa régulation afin de déveloper une réflection scientifique biomédicale. ...

Description

This lecture covers the dynamics of pulmonary capillaries, gas solubility, gas diffusion, alveolar gas composition, hypoxic and hypercapnic stimuli, ventilation-perfusion ratio, gas diffusion in the lungs and peripheral tissues, gas diffusion capacity, hemoglobin and its affinity, saturation/dissociation curve, and Bohr effect on hemoglobin dissociation. Specific topics include the properties of pulmonary capillaries, gas diffusion in fluids and tissues, composition of alveolar air, air renewal in alveoli, ventilation-perfusion ratio impact, oxygen and carbon dioxide diffusion in blood and tissues, and the effects of metabolism and tissue circulation on gas concentration.

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Instructor

Sylvain Roy

1995: Diplôme fédéral de médecin 2000: Thèse de doctorat en médecine 2001: Diplôme fédéral de spécialiste FMH en ophtalmologie et ophtalmochirurgie 2003: Diplôme d'étude spécialisée en ingénierie biomédicale

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension (PH or PHTN) is a condition of increased blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath, fainting, tiredness, chest pain, swelling of the legs, and a fast heartbeat. The condition may make it difficult to exercise. Onset is typically gradual. According to the latest definition at the 6th World Symposium of Pulmonary Hypertension, a patient is deemed to have pulmonary hypertension if the pulmonary mean arterial pressure is greater than 20mmHg at rest, and Pulmonary Vascular Resistance PVR >3 Wood units.

Respiratory system

The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies greatly, depending on the size of the organism, the environment in which it lives and its evolutionary history. In land animals the respiratory surface is internalized as linings of the lungs. Gas exchange in the lungs occurs in millions of small air sacs; in mammals and reptiles these are called alveoli, and in birds they are known as atria.

Molecular diffusion

Molecular diffusion, often simply called diffusion, is the thermal motion of all (liquid or gas) particles at temperatures above absolute zero. The rate of this movement is a function of temperature, viscosity of the fluid and the size (mass) of the particles. Diffusion explains the net flux of molecules from a region of higher concentration to one of lower concentration. Once the concentrations are equal the molecules continue to move, but since there is no concentration gradient the process of molecular diffusion has ceased and is instead governed by the process of self-diffusion, originating from the random motion of the molecules.

Diffusion

Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical potential. It is possible to diffuse "uphill" from a region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration, like in spinodal decomposition. Diffusion is a stochastic process due to the inherent randomness of the diffusing entity and can be used to model many real-life stochastic scenarios.

Pulmonary edema

Pulmonary edema, also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive liquid accumulation in the tissue and air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause hypoxemia and respiratory failure. It is due to either failure of the left ventricle of the heart to remove oxygenated blood adequately from the pulmonary circulation (cardiogenic pulmonary edema), or an injury to the lung tissue directly or blood vessels of the lung (non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema).

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