Human Respiratory System Assessment

Study Notes

The thorax is the upper part of the chest, extending from the base of the neck to the diaphragm.
It contains the lungs, heart, and major blood vessels.
The lungs are responsible for gas exchange, bringing oxygen into the body and removing carbon dioxide.

Inspection: observe the patient's breathing pattern, chest movement, and use of accessory muscles.
Palpation: feel the chest for vibrations, tenderness, or deformities.
Percussion: tap on the chest to assess lung sounds and detect abnormalities.
Auscultation: listen to lung sounds with a stethoscope to detect abnormal breath sounds.

Normal:
- Vesicular breath sounds: soft, gentle, and evenly distributed.
- Bronchial breath sounds: louder and more tubular, heard over the trachea and main bronchi.
Abnormal:
- Wheezes: high-pitched, continuous sounds, often indicating airway obstruction.
- Rhonchi: low-pitched, continuous sounds, often indicating secretions in the airways.
- Crackles: discontinuous, popping sounds, often indicating fluid or mucus in the alveoli.

Hypoxemic:
- Inadequate oxygenation of the blood.
- Signs: cyanosis, restlessness, confusion, and tachypnea.
Hypercapnic:
- Inadequate removal of carbon dioxide from the blood.
- Signs: headache, lethargy, and tachypnea.

Oxygen Therapy:
- Administer supplemental oxygen to increase oxygen saturation.
- Monitor oxygen saturation and adjust oxygen flow as needed.
Pulmonary Hygiene:
- Encourage deep breathing exercises and coughing to loosen secretions.
- Use suctioning and chest physiotherapy to remove mucus and promote lung expansion.
Medication Administration:
- Administer bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and mucolytics as prescribed to manage respiratory conditions.

Respiratory Distress Syndrome:
- Acute, life-threatening respiratory failure.
- Signs: severe dyspnea, cyanosis, and tachypnea.
Pneumothorax:
- Air in the pleural space, causing lung collapse.
- Signs: sudden, severe chest pain, dyspnea, and decreased lung sounds.
Pulmonary Embolism:
- Blockage of the pulmonary artery, causing respiratory failure.
- Signs: sudden, severe chest pain, dyspnea, and tachycardia.

The thorax extends from the base of the neck to the diaphragm and contains the lungs, heart, and major blood vessels.
The lungs are responsible for gas exchange, bringing oxygen into the body and removing carbon dioxide.

Inspection involves observing the patient's breathing pattern, chest movement, and use of accessory muscles.
Palpation involves feeling the chest for vibrations, tenderness, or deformities.
Percussion involves tapping on the chest to assess lung sounds and detect abnormalities.
Auscultation involves listening to lung sounds with a stethoscope to detect abnormal breath sounds.

Vesicular breath sounds are soft, gentle, and evenly distributed.
Bronchial breath sounds are louder and more tubular, heard over the trachea and main bronchi.
Wheezes are high-pitched, continuous sounds, often indicating airway obstruction.
Rhonchi are low-pitched, continuous sounds, often indicating secretions in the airways.
Crackles are discontinuous, popping sounds, often indicating fluid or mucus in the alveoli.

Hypoxemic respiratory failure involves inadequate oxygenation of the blood, leading to signs such as cyanosis, restlessness, confusion, and tachypnea.
Hypercapnic respiratory failure involves inadequate removal of carbon dioxide from the blood, leading to signs such as headache, lethargy, and tachypnea.

Oxygen therapy involves administering supplemental oxygen to increase oxygen saturation, and monitoring oxygen saturation to adjust oxygen flow as needed.
Pulmonary hygiene involves encouraging deep breathing exercises and coughing to loosen secretions, and using suctioning and chest physiotherapy to remove mucus and promote lung expansion.
Medication administration involves administering bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and mucolytics as prescribed to manage respiratory conditions.

Respiratory distress syndrome is an acute, life-threatening respiratory failure characterized by severe dyspnea, cyanosis, and tachypnea.
Pneumothorax is characterized by air in the pleural space, causing lung collapse, and signs such as sudden, severe chest pain, dyspnea, and decreased lung sounds.
Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the pulmonary artery, causing respiratory failure, and is characterized by signs such as sudden, severe chest pain, dyspnea, and tachycardia.