CCMA training notes: Respiratory System Review

  • Respiratory system  

  • Anatomy  

  • The Respiratory System:  

  • Nostrils: Nose where the air comes into the body.  

  • Nasal Cavities: Help clean the air of contaiminants and other substances in the air. 

  • Upper Respiratory System: the air then is moved through this which includes the pharynx or throat and larynx or the voice box where it moves to the lungs through the trachea.  

  • Epiglottis: Is a productive device that covers the opening to the trachea when the person swallows so that food does not enter the airway.  

  • Lungs: There are two: the right lung which is divided into three lobes and the left lung which is divided into two lobes.  

  • Primary Bronchus: From the trachea this forms bronchiole.  

  • Alveoli: At the ends of the bronchioles are this which is where the oxygen and carbon dioxide are transferred between the respiratory system and the blood. These enter onto each lung. Together these structures form the lower respiratory system.  

The Upper Respiratory System:  

  • Are closely related to the digestive system, many of which are partly involved in both systems to some point, and work together to perform these multiple functions:  

  • Nostrils, nasal cavity, oral cavity, lips, jaw, tongue, uvula, pharynx, epiglottis, esophagus, and larynx.  

  • Physiology 

Gas Exhange:  

  1. Exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide between the air in the respiratory system and the blood.  

  1. The blood takes oxygen to all the tissues of the body via the cardiovascular system.  

  1. It then removes the waste product carbon dioxide from the tissues, and it takes it back to the respiratory system where it eliminated out of the body.  

Breathing:  

  1. The Diaphragm together with the intercostal muscles of the ribs allow the person to inhale and exhale air through the respiratory system  

  1. During inhalation, the diaphragm contracts and pulls downward causing the throracic cavity to expand creating a vacuum within the thoracic cavity drawing air into the lungs from the outside.  

  1. With exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and moves upward. This causes the thoracic cavity to become smaller, forcing air out of the lungs to the outside.  

  • Common Diseases and Disorders 

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD):  

  • It is a group of lung diseases where airflow in the bronchial structures is obstructed and is often a result of smoking. It is a permenent condition and typically progressive in nature. Related diseases include...  

  • Chronic Bronchitis: This is where the airways become inflamed because of continued exposure to some type of irritant. This can be smoke or a chemical or something else. In this condition, cells produce too much mucus, and the walls of the air passage thicken, making it difficult to breath as well as coughing. Patients also are at much higher risk for lung infections. 

  • Emphysema: This is a long-term loss of lung function that progresses over time. There is a decrease in the number of alveoli and progressive destruction of the walls of the alveoli resulting in rapid, shallow, and difficult breathing.  

Asthma:  

  • Refers to a chronic inflammatory disease of the bronchial tubes where the airway becomes inflamed and the bronchioles go into spasms, significantly reducing the airway.   

  • Often caused by an allergic reaction, stress/anxiety, environmental agents, infection, or exercise, causing severe breathing difficulty, coughing, and wheezing.  

Upper Respiratory Disorders:  

  • Infections: Upper respiratory infections can affect any or all parts of the upper respiratory system. This is typically called the common cold and can be caused by one of over 200 different viruses. The most common is called the human rhinovirus.  

  • Allergic Rhinitis: Is the technical term for an allergy, or an allergic reaction to an airborne allergen, resulting in increased mucus and inflammation of the lining of the nose.  

  • Croup: Is an acute respiratory infection in children and infants. Patients exhibit a barking cough or a high-pitched sound caused by blockage of the air passages upon inhalation.  

  • Diphtheria: This is a bacterial infection of the throat and upper respiratory tract. The infection produces toxins that damage the heart muscle and peripheral nervous system. It is rare now due to childhood immunizations.  

  • Influenza: This is the flu and is caused by a viral infection leading to respiratory inflammation, fever, chills, and muscle pain. There are many strains of virus that cause the flu.  

  • Pertussis: This is commonly called whooping cough. It is a bacterial infection of the upper respiratory system leading to cough, breathlessness, and noisy inhalation. Immunization against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus are given together as the DPT immunization.  

  • Sinusitis: This is an inflammation of the sinuses.  

  • Epistasis: This is a nosebleed.  

  • Pharyngitis: Refers to an inflammation of the pharynx or a sore throat. There can be numerous causes.  

  • Laryngitis: Refers to an inflammation of the larynx and is often associated with loss of voice.  

Breathing Disorders:  

  • Eupnea: Refers to normal breathing.  

  • Apnea: Refers to a temporary absence of spontaneous breathing.  

  • Bradypnea: Refers ro abnormally slow breathing, or respiration rate, typically at the rate of 10 breaths per minute or less.  

  • Tachypnea: Refers to an abnormally fast rate of respiration, typically at the rate of 20 breaths per minute or faster.  

  • Cheyne-strokes respiration: Refers to an irregular pattern of breathing where the rate alternates between rapid and shallow respiration followed by slower respiration or apnea.  

  • Dyspnea: Refers to difficult or labored breathing. It is also called shortness of breath.  

  • Hypernea: Refers to breathing that is deeper and more rapid than normal breathing at rest.  

  • Hypopnea: Refers to shallow or slow respiration at rest. 

  • Hyperventilation: Refers to an abnormally rapid rate of deep respiration often associated with anxiety.  

Issues Related to Lack of Oxygen: 

  • Anoxia: Refers to the absence of oxygen from the body’s tissues and organs even through there is sufficient flow of blood. Brain damage occurs after four to six minutes.  

  • Hypoxia: Is a condition of having too little oxygen levels in the body’s tissues and organs.  

  • Altitude hypoxia: referred to as altitude sickness 

  • Asphyxia: Is a loss of consciousness that occurs when the body cannot get the oxygen it needs to function.  

  • Asphyxiation: is the state of asphyxia or suffocation  

  • Cyanosis: Is a bluish discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes caused by a lack of sufficient oxygen in the blood.  

  • Hypercapnia: This is an abnormal buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood.  

  • Hypoxemia: This is when a person has low oxygen levels in the blood.  

  • Respiratory Failure: Is a condition in which the level of oxygen in the blood becomes dangerously low or the level of carbon dioxide becomes dangerously high.  

Sleep Related Disorders:  

  • Sleep Apnea: Refers to a condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep for periods long enough to cause a measurable decrease in blood oxygen levels.  

  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): Is caused by the muscles at the back of the throat relaxing and narrowing the airways.  

  • Snoring: Is symptom of sleep apnea and refers to noisy breathing caused by vibration of the soft palate.   

Enviromental and Occupational Lung Diseases:  

  • Pneumoconiosis: Is any fibrosis of the lung tissues caused by dust in the lungs from the environment or a person’s occupation.  

  • Asbestosis: Is caused by asbestos particles in the lungs from working or living in an environment with asbestos.  

  • Silicosis: Is caused by breathing in silica dust and occurs in specific occupations.  

Lung Diseases:  

  • Pleurisy: Also called pleuritis, this refers to an inflammation of the membranes covering the lungs and pleural cavity.  

  • Hemothorax: Refers to a collection of blood in the pleural cavity typically caused by chest trauma.  

  • Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS): This lung condition is caused by trauma, pneumonia, smoking, inhaled vomit, or sepsis. The lungs become inflamed, and fluid fills the alveoli.  

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome:  

  • Is the sudden and unexplainable death of an apparently healthy sleeping infant typically between 2 months and 6 months old (though the infant can be older).  

  • It is recommended that infants sleep on their back instead of face down with no blankets, pillows, or toys in the bed.