Describe the atmospheric pressure-intrapulmonary pressure

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Reference no: EM133648068

Assignment:

I Can't Stop Coughing: A Case Study on the Respiratory System

Mike is sitting in his athletic training suite feeling sorry for himself. He moved from Southern California to play soccer at Northern Minnesota University (NMU) as a highly recruited player. All was well until he got sick with a miserable cold. He soon recovered, but now he finds himself with a lingering dry cough and difficulty catching his breath any time he exerts himself, which is every day! He also notices it has gotten worse as the weather has become colder. To make things worse, Mike feels, and looks, like he's out of shape, so his coach has been criticizing him for dogging it.

A few days later, Mike relays his story to JP, the head athletic trainer at NMU. "I'm thinking my cold is coming back, or something else is wrong with me. When I'm just hanging out, like now, I feel fine. But as soon as I start to run, I get winded and can't stop coughing." JP listens to Mike's breathing sounds with his stethoscope but hears nothing abnormal. So, he tells Mike to come back as soon as the symptoms return during soccer practice. Twenty minutes later, Mike is back in the athletic training suite, audibly wheezing, coughing, and short of breath. The team physician, Dr. McInnis, happens to be there and performs a complete physical exam. He also does pulmonary function tests with Mike using spirometry, including a forced vital capacity (FVC). He instructs Mike to take a maximal inhalation and then exhale as forcefully and maximally as possible into the spirometer.

The spirometry test results came as follows: Mike's total lung capacity is 6500 ml; his expiratory reserve volume is 1200 ml and his FEV1/FVC is 55%.

1. Analyze Mike's condition considering his test results. Are these values normal? Interpret his results comparing them to normal values in a male patient then summarize your answer by diagnosing his condition. Would his condition be consistent with asthma or emphysema? Support your diagnosis using the data provided.

2. Describe the relationship between atmospheric pressure, intrapulmonary pressure and air flow during normal inspiration and expiration referring to Boyle's law. Then, evaluate how Mike's bronchoconstriction led to difficulty in breathing.

3. Resistance varies in Mike's conducting airways. Using your understanding of respiratory anatomy, explain where in his airway the resistance is highest and conclude why this section of his airways is contributing to his condition.

4. Several physical factors influence the efficiency of pulmonary ventilation, identify these factors, then interpret how they contributed to Mike's inefficiency in breathing.

5. Albuterol is a selective beta-2 adrenergic agonist. Do some research on this inhaler then summarize the diagnosis and discuss how it will help improve Mike's breathing condition.

Reference no: EM133648068

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