Respiratory patterns
Respiratory Patterns |
Classification |
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Eiman Ghaffarpasand, M.D. [2]
Synonyms and keywords:
Overview
Classification
Eupnea
- Normal breathing is consisted of inhalation (sucking the air into the lungs) followed by exhalation (blowing the air out of the lungs).
- Every exhalation is followed by an automatic pause of about 2 second, before the next inhalation.
- Inhalation is an active process using diaphragm muscles, despite exhalation which is a passive process.
- Eupnea is the normal pattern of breathing with a rate of 10-12 per minute, each cycle is composed of:
- Inhalation of 1.5-2 seconds
- Exhalation of 1.5-2 seconds
- Spontaneous stop of 2 seconds
- The main characteristics of eupnea are as following:
- Slow
- Regular
- Nasal inhalation, oral exhalation
- Diaphragmatic
- Effortless
- Clear auscultation:
- No panting
- No wheezing
- No sighing
- No deep breathing
Tachypnea
- Tachypnea is increased rate and decrease depth of breathing.
The main pathophysiology of tachypnea is as following:
Decreased plasma oxygen (hypoxemia) | Increased plasma CO2 (respiratory acidosis) | Decreased pulmonary compliance | Increased airway resistance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Carotid body | Medullary chemoreceptors | Pulmonary or muscle mechanoreceptors | Airway receptors | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pathophysiology of tachypnea | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- The main causes of tachypnea are classified into pulmonary, cardiovascular, hematologic, and metabolic pathophysiologies.