Question

A 26-year old female patient (height 5 foot 6 inches tall) exhibits a forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) that is 1860 ml. Her VC = 3100 ml.

Describe what type of respiratory disease the woman may have. Explain how this disease may affect the resistance in her conducting zone. Would you also expect to see damage in the respiratory zone of the lungs? Explain.

Answer 1

FEV1 / FVC = 1860 / 3100 *100 = 60%

The normal value for the FEV1/FVC ratio is 70%, in this patient it is around 60 %,

Abnormal values indicate there is decrease in the airflow in the lungs, this could be caused by obstructive lung diseases, Obstructive lung disease is a type of lung disease that occurs due to blockages or obstructions in the airways. Blockages damage the lungs and cause their airways to narrow, examples of this include emphysema, COPD, cystic fibrosis, asthma, etc.

Resistance in the conducting zone would be increased, due to reduced airway diameter.

The respiratory zone includes the alveolar epithelium, with obstructive lung diseases,the alveoli and lung tissue are destroyed. With this damage, the alveoli cannot support the bronchial tubes, The tubes collapse and cause an “obstruction which traps air inside the lungs because of which they cannot get air out of lungs, too much air trapped in the lungs can give some patients a barrel-chested appearance. also, because there are fewer alveoli, less oxygen will be able to move into the bloodstream.