Pulmonary physiology and pathophysiology

Abstract

This chapter describes (l) the flow of gas through the conducting airways from the atmosphere to the alveoli, (2) how the regional distribution of gas depends on lung volume, (3) the exchange of gas between the alveoli and pulmonary blood, and (4) the control of breathing. We combine a discussion of these normal processes with an outline of how general anesthesia, or other pathophysiologic derangements relevant to anesthesiologists, may disturb these processes.