Respiratory Medicine & Pulmonary Physiology Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key anatomical, physiological, and clinical concepts from the respiratory medicine lecture notes.

Conducting Airways

The section of the respiratory tract that warms, humidifies, and filters air, trapping large dust particles before air reaches the gas exchange regions.

Respiratory Zone

The distal structures of the respiratory tract, including respiratory bronchioles and alveolar sacs, that directly participate in gas exchange.

Goblet Cells

Mucus-secreting cells extending to the end of bronchi that clear foreign particles; their activity is impaired by smoking and restores after smoking cessation.

Bronchial Thermoplasty

An innovative, non-drug procedure developed for severe persistent asthma that reduces smooth muscle size in the airway walls.

Emphysema

A chronic lung disease characterized by the destruction of alveolar walls, leading to floppy airways, airway collapse during expiration, air trapping, and hyperinflation.

Pneumocytes Type 1

Thin, squamous epithelial cells lining approximately $97\%$ of the alveolar surface, primarily responsible for gas diffusion.

Pneumocytes Type 2

Cuboidal, clustered alveolar cells that secrete pulmonary surfactant and serve as precursor cells that proliferate during lung injury repair.

Pulmonary Surfactant

A surface-active agent secreted by type 2 pneumocytes that prevents alveolar collapse by reducing surface tension within the alveoli.

Pancoast Tumor

A type of lung cancer located at the apex (top part) of the lung.

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

A group of three related syndromes resulting from the compression of nerves, arteries, and veins in the lower neck and upper chest region.

Flail Chest

A traumatic chest condition in which sections of broken ribs, fractured in at least two places, become isolated from and interfere with normal chest wall movement.

Phrenic Nerve

The nerve arising from the neck region that supplies motor innervation to the diaphragm; damage to this nerve causes diaphragm paralysis.

Right Main Bronchus

The wider and straighter primary bronchus, making it the most common anatomical site for inhaled foreign bodies to lodge.

Lung Compliance

The mechanical property describing the ease with which lung tissue can stretch and expand during ventilation.

Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction

A physiological response in which pulmonary arterioles constrict in response to regional alveolar hypoxia to redirect blood flow to better-ventilated lung areas.

PaO2

Arterial oxygen tension, representing the dissolved oxygen in arterial blood, with a normal value of approximately $13.3\,kPa$ ($100\,mmHg$).

SpO2

Oxygen saturation percentage, which measures the percentage of hemoglobin oxygen-binding sites occupied by oxygen.

Oxygen Dissociation Curve Right Shift

A physiological shift indicating decreased hemoglobin affinity for oxygen and increased oxygen delivery to tissues, triggered by increased $H^+$ (decreased pH), elevated temperature, higher altitude, increased $2,3\text{-BPG}$, or increased $PCO_2$.

Oxygen Dissociation Curve Left Shift

A physiological shift indicating increased hemoglobin affinity for oxygen and reduced oxygen release to tissues, caused by decreased $H^+$ (increased pH), lower temperature, reduced altitude, decreased $2,3\text{-BPG}$, fetal hemoglobin ($HbF$), or methemoglobin ($MetHb$).

Type 2 Respiratory Failure

A clinical condition marked by hypoventilation and severe hypercapnia ($PaCO_2 > 6\,kPa$), leading to breathing control that relies predominantly on hypoxic drive.