6.How the respiratory system does compensate for an increase in dead space?
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How much of the air we breathe can we use?
It would be nice to be able to tell you that our bodies are so efficient that all 6 liters of air could be used. Unfortunately, our bodies aren't that efficient. You see, we only use air when we can have gas exchange. Gas exchange only takes place at the alveoli. When we inhale, we take air into our entire respiratory system, and only that air that entered first makes it all the way into the alveoli. Some air has to remain in the nasal cavity, trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles so that they do not create a vacuum! The air that remains in these respiratory passageways cannot be used in our bodies and is exhale unchanged. Because of this, our respiratory passageways can also be called anatomic dead space, since they are anatomically necessary to get air to the alveoli, but they have no way of using the air.
How much air goes unused in the anatomic dead space? Approximately 150 mL! So, during normal resting breathing, 150 mL of the 500 mL is unused. (150/500) * 100% = 30%. That means that with every resting breath, we cannot use 30% of the air we draw in!
There is another term to describe regions where air cannot be used: physiologic dead space. This term includes all the anatomic dead space. But it also has more. Let's say that a part of the lung is damaged and gas exchange cannot happen there-- air still goes there, but cannot be used. That damaged area creates more dead space. If we add it on to the anatomic dead space, we have a better idea of the total amount of dead space. This total is the physiologic dead space. It also includes dynamic changes in gas exchange abilities throughout the lungs.
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