Breathing: It's Not Just About Oxygen (Out of Print)

Abstract

Abstract This interactive resource is composed of three self-learning modules that will allow undergraduate health science and medical students to explore the anatomy and physiology of respiration. The idea for this resource arose from gaps in student understanding identified from short-answer questions that asked students to apply their knowledge of the regulation of lung ventilation in a real-life scenario. In these modules, students will construct the airflow pathway into and out of the lungs and justify the role of gradients in driving the exchange of respiratory gases between the alveolar air and the bloodstream. Through investigation of the regulation of respiration they will recognize the key role played by blood carbon dioxide levels in governing lung ventilation. They will then apply their new knowledge through real life and clinical scenarios that will permit them to recognize situations in which fluctuations in blood carbon dioxide levels will stimulate appropriate changes in lung ventilation in an effort to maintain homeostasis. Dead space volume, a particularly challenging concept for students, will be the focus of some of the clinical and daily life applications. Throughout this series of modules there will be ample opportunities for self-testing with the provision of feedback to guide learning and promote understanding of the physiological regulation of respiration.

Keywords

• Oxygen Consumption
• Carbon Dioxide
• Lung Ventilation
• Respiration
• Gas Exchange