shortness of breath 2.1

[ellominero18]

You are called to the lake to meet a patient coming in on a boat who is having difficulty breathing. When you arrive, the boat has just docked and friends are removing the patient from the boat. When you do your history, you find that this 30-year-old female was scuba diving in 65 feet of water when her tank malfunctioned. She was forced to hold her breath and surface rapidly. Currently, she is having difficulty breathing, her skin is wet and "ashen" in appearance. Her blood pressure is 90/60, her respirations are 30, and her pulse is 120 with an oxygen saturation of 82%. Her lung sounds are clear on the right and almost completely absent on the left.

· The most likely cause of this patient's shortness of breath is a pneumothorax (air between the pleura) caused by her rapid ascent from depth. Using the concept of Boyle's law, explain what happened to cause this pneumothorax and why. That is, in your own words, explain why Boyle's law is the culprit for the pneumothorax and why the breach of the potential space between the visceral and parietal pleura caused the pneumothorax.

· Your patient's normal minute ventilation is 6000ml of air while her alveolar ventilation is only 4200ml. Why is there a difference of 1800ml between these two volumes? Explain in your own words.

· Explain in detail how an oxygen molecule gets into the blood stream, is carried to the cells, gets to the cells from the blood, and subsequently, how the waste products (carbon dioxide) return to the atmosphere.

· Your patient's normal respiratory rate is between 12 and 18. Currently, your patient is breathing faster than normal. Explain how chemoreceptors, lung receptors, and the nervous system control ventilation.

[MariB]

Or is this a test question?

[Just Plain Ruff]

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