MedTerm/PX Care

SEMIFINAL Reviewer

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
PARTS OF THE RESPIRATORY
SYSTEM
 Is a critical part of the human body that is responsible for
our ability to breathe and exchange gases with the Nose (nostrils or nares) it filters smaller particles,
environment. warms and humidifies incoming
air, and receives odors.
 Consists of a series of tubes that transport air into and out
if the lungs.
Pharynx common passage of both food
and air. To prevent food from
 Its function is to supply oxygen (O2) to the body cells and
entering the tract, a small flap,
to transport carbon dioxide (CO2), produced by the body called epiglottis, covers the
cells, to the atmosphere. opening of the larynx during the
act of swallowing.
The respiratory organs also function in:
Larynx (voice box) it contains the vocal cords and
 Production of speech supporting tissue which makes
 Body defense against foreign material sound possible.
 Hormonal regulation of blood pressure
Trachea (windpipe) serves as passage way for air to
 when we are under stress, our body releases a
the bronchi
hormone called cortisol, which helps to prepare us for
the "fight or flight" response. Bronchi each bronchus subdivides into
 cortisol levels can be affected by breathing patterns, smaller branches called
and slow, deep breathing has been shown to help bronchioles which terminates
regulate cortisol levels and reduce stress. into the alveoli (air sacs)

PROCESSES INVOLVED IN RESPIRATION Lungs pyramid-shaped, spongy air-

filled organs which are molded
 PULMONARY RESPIRATION – breathing into the thoracic cavity that
 EXTERNAL RESPIRATION – diffusion of CO2 and O2, contains them
between the air in the lungs and the blood in the
pulmonary capillaries Pleura are the serous membrane
coverings that enclose each
 this process occurs through the passive process of
lung.
diffusion, which is the movement of molecules from an
area of high concentration to an area of low Parietal Pleura lines the thoracic (chest) cavity.
concentration. The visceral pleura covers the
 INTERNAL RESPIRATION - diffusion of CO2 and O2, lung and is continuous at the
between blood and tissue cells root of the lung where it joins
 Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs is transported to the with the parietal pleura.
body's tissues through the circulatory system, where
it diffuses out of the capillaries and into the
surrounding tissues.
 CELLULAR RESPIRATION - use of O2 by the body cells in
production of energy and release of CO2 and H2O by the
body cells

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RESPIRATORY DISORDERS
 Abscess (lung) - localized collection of pus in a cavity
formed by disintegration of tissues
 Asphyxiation - suffocation
 Asthma - condition marked by recurrent attacks of spasm
and swelling of airways, with wheezing, usually caused by
allergy
 Atelectasis - incomplete expansion if the lungs at birth, or
collapse of lungs of adult lung
 Bronchiectasis - chronic dilatation of one or more bronchi
 Bronchitis - inflammation of one or more bronchi
 Carcinoma - malignant new growth made up of epithelial
cells tending to infiltrate surrounding tissues and to give
rise to metastases
 Cor Pulmonale - heart failure from pulmonary disease
 Coryza - profuse discharge from the mucous membrane of
the nose: Common cold
 COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) - A
progressive disease that makes it increasingly difficult for a
person to breath. Mostly an intersection to three related
conditions
 Chronic bronchitis
 Chronic asthma
 Emphysema
 Deviated Septum: defect in the wall of between the
nostrils that can cause partial or complete obstruction
 Diphtheria: acute bacterial infection primarily affecting
the membranes of the nose, throat, or larynx accompanied
by fever and pain
 Effusion: escape of fluid; exudation (fluid that leaks around
the cells of the capillaries caused by inflammation) or
transudation 9 fluid pushed through the capillary due to
high pressure within the capillary)
 Emphysema: pathologic accumulation of air in tissues or
organs
 Empyema: pus in a body cavity
 Fibrosis: formation of scar tissue (in lungs); usually caused
by previous infection
 Flail Chest: chest wall moves paradoxically with
perspiration, owing to multiple fractures of the ribs
 Flu: aka influenza
 Hay fever: a hypertensive state, e.g., allergy to pollen
 Hemothorax: blood in the pleural thoracic cavity
 Hiccough: sharp inspiratory sound with hiccup spasm of
the glottis and diaphragm
 Histoplasmosis: fungal infection of lungs; maybe
symptomatic or asymptomatic; resembling TB
 Hyaline Membrane Disease: lack of surfactant due to a
layer of hyaline material lining the alveoli, alveolar ducts
and bronchioles. Leading cause of neonatal deaths
 Laryngotracheobronchitis: inflammation of the larynx,
trachea and bronchi
 Pertussis: whooping cough
 Pleurisy: inflammation of the pleura; also called pleuritis
 Pneumoconiosis: any lung disease, e.g., anthracosis,
silicosis, etc., caused by permanent disposition of
substantial amount of particulate matter in the lungs
 Rhinorrhea: “runny nose”
 Tuberculosis (TB): an infectious disease, marked by
tubercles and caseous necrosis in tissues of the lungs
 URTI (Upper Respiratory Tract Infection) - general term
for cold or flu
OTHER TERMS & FACTS
 Aerosol: a medication that can be sprayed from a container to
relieve bronchial distress, especially asthma
 Anoxia: without oxygen
 Apnea: temporary cessation of breathing; asphyxia
 Bifurcation: a division of two branches
 Bronchodilator: an agent capable of dilating the bronchi
 Bronchospasm: spasmodic contraction of bronchi muscles, as
in asthma
 Cheyne-Stokes: breathing characterized by waxing and
waning of the depth of respiration: the patient breathes deeply
then slightly or stops altogether.
 Consolidation: solidification of lung tissue, as in pneumonia
 Cyanosis: a bluish discoloration of skin and mucous
membranes caused by insufficient oxygen in the blood
 Dysphonia: voice impairment; difficulty in speaking
 Dyspnea: labored or difficult breathing
 Endotracheal Tube (ET): airway catheter inserted in the
trachea during surgery and for temporary airway in emergency
situations
 Expectorants: an agent that promotes expectoration (to loosen
secretions)
 Hemoptysis: spitting of blood- or blood-stained sputum (from
lungs)
 Hiatus: a gap (opening), especially in the diaphragm
 Hilus: part of lung where vessels, nerves, and bronchi enter
 Hypercapnia: excess of carbon dioxide in the blood
 Hyperventilation: increased rate and/or depth of respiration
 Hypoxia: insufficient oxygen
 Kussmaul Breathing: gasping, labored breathing; also called
air hunger
 Laryngectomy: excision of the larynx
 Lobectomy: excision of a lobe in the lung
 Mantoux (test): TB skin test
 Orthopnea: difficulty of breathing except in the upright
position
 Parenchyma: the essential elements of a “working parts” of an
organ
 Percussion and Auscultation: striking the body (chest) with
short sharp blows of fingers, and listening for sounds produced
through stethoscope
 Perfusion: the passage of fluid through the vessels of a specific
organ to supply oxygen and nutrients
 Pneumothorax: air or gas in the pleural space; from trauma or
deliberate introduction
 Productive cough: cough with spitting of material from the
bronchi
 Rales or Ronchi: an abnormal respiratory sound heard on
auscultation, indicating pathologic condition
 Respirator/Ventilator: a device used in giving artificial
respiration
 Rhinoplasty: surgery of the nose
 SOB: shortness of breath
 Spirometer: a device used to measure air taken into and
expelled out of the lungs; an instrument to measure lung
capacity
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 Sputum: matter ejected from the trachea, bronchi and lungs
through the mouth
 Tachypnea: very rapid respiration
 Thoracentesis: surgical puncture of the chest wall into the
parietal cavity to remove fluid
 Tracheotomy: creation of an opening through the trachea

 The lungs are the only organs that can float on water
 Medical examiners use the so-called "lung float test" during
autopsies to determine if a baby was stillborn (died in the
womb). If the lungs float, the baby was born alive; if the lungs
don't float, the baby was stillborn.
 Your lungs are not sterile or germ-free, even in health
 Studies have demonstrated that the lower respiratory tract is
replete with diverse communities of bacteria both in health and
in diseased states. However, it might be fair to assume that they
are norma flora, or microbes that normally live inside our
bodies that do not cause disease.
 Coughing, sneezing and yawning are natural mechanisms
 Coughing and sneezing keep your lungs clear of foreign
substances and invaders you might unknowingly inhale. Also,
yawning helps US breathe more oxygen to lungs and in case our
brain senses the shortage of oxygen.
 Some air never leaves your lungs
 You have a small amount of air, called residual volume, that
always stays inside your lungs. This is important because it
prevents your smaller airways and alveoli from collapsing
about 1,200 ml of air remains in your lungs.
 It is possible to live with just one lung (Pneumonectomy)
 Although it limits your physical ability, it will not stop you from
leading a normal life. In fact, many people in the world are
living with just one lung.

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 CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM  Heart walls is composed of 3 layers:
 Outer Epicardium
 Organ system that distributes blood to all parts of the body.  Myocardium
Major function transportation, using blood as the transport  Endocardium
vehicle
 Is a subset of the circulatory system; consists of the heart,  Fibrous pericardium: superficial loosely fitted part
blood, and blood vessels.  Epicardium: the inner serous layer which contains the
 Associated with the circulatory system are the blood visceral membrane that covers the heart surface
forming organs namely:
 Spleen
 Liver
 Bone marrow
 Thymus gland
 Lymph tissue
 This system carries oxygen, nutrients, cell wastes,
hormones and other substances vital for body homeostasis
to and from cells

THREE TYPES OF CIRCULATION:

 Pulmonary (lung)
 Systemic (whole body)
 Portal (intestine, liver, spleen)
 Pulmonary Circulation - Oxygen-rich blood drains from
HEART the lungs and is returned to the left side of the heart
through the four pulmonary veins.
 Is a four-chambered hollow organ that lies between the
lungs in the middle of the thoracic cavity ARTERIES
 Is about size of the owner’s fist, weighs less than a pound
 Carry blood form the heart
 Elastic arteries are the largest arteries from the heart.
 Muscular arteries branch into medium-sized and small
arteries that contains both muscular and elastic tissue.
 The smallest, the arterioles, deliver blood to capillary bed
in tissues

VEINS

 Carry blood back to the arteria of the heart.

 The venous system holds 75% of total blood volume and
returns blood under very low pressure.
 The venous system begins in the capillary beds and flow
into the larger venules and then into small, medium, and
large veins

CAPILLARIES

 Capillaries are the smallest of the body's blood vessels.

 They are only one cell thick, and they are the sites of the
transfer of oxygen and other nutrients from the
bloodstream to other tissues in the body

FUNCTION OF THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

 The heart is enclosed by a double-walled sac called
pericardium which protects and anchors the heart
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 Transport: food, gases, hormones, mineral, enzymes, and other
vital substances are carried in the blood to every cell in the
body. All waste materials are carried by blood to the lungs,
skin, or kidneys for elimination
 Body Temperature: the blood vessel maintains the body
temperature by dilating at the skin surface to dissipate heat, or
by constricting to retain heat.
 Protection: the blood and lymphatic system protects the body
against injury and foreign invasion through the immune
system.
 Buffering: blood proteins provide an acid-base buffer system
to maintain the optimum pH level of the blood
LYPHATIC SYSTEM
 Is an accessory component of the CS.
 It produces and stores:
 lymphocytes,
 lymph fluid, and
 lymph vessels that return lymph fluid to the
circulation
Red Blood Cells (RBC):
 also called Erythrocytes, contains hemoglobin and
transport oxygen
White Blood Cells (WBC)
 also called Leukocytes, protects the body against
pathogenic microorganism
5 Types of WBC
 Neutrophils,
 eosinophils,
 basophils (granolucytes) and
 lymphocytes and
 monocyte (agranolucytes)
Fibrinogen: promotes blood clotting
Thrombocytes: blood platelets
Plasma: the fluid portion of the blood or lymph.
 When whole blood is undisturbed in a tube, clotting cells
settle in the bottom; the clear plasma on top
Serum: the clear portion of the blood separated from solid elements;
plasma minus the fibrogen
Platelets: a disk-shaped structure in the blood, for blood
coagulation; also called thrombocyte
Reticulocytes: immature RBCs, in the bone marrow
Universal Donor: a person with group O blood
Universal Recipient: able to receive blood of any type; group AB
Granulocytes:
■ any cell containing granules, formed in the bone marrow.
Types of Granulocytes:
 Neutrophils: type 1 WBC, defends the body by ingesting
invaders
 Eosinophils: type 2 WBC, associated with allergy
 Basophils: type 3 WBC, contain anticoagulant heparin,
which prevents blood from clotting too quickly. They also
contain the vasodilator histamine, which promotes blood
flow to tissues.
Agranulocytes:
■ produced by spleen and lymph nodes.
Two types:
■ Lymphocytes: participate in immunity-producing
antibodies to destroy foreign materials, type 4 WBC
■ Monocyte: destroys foreign invaders in the body, type 5
WBC
Blood Pressure
■ Hypertension: persistently high arterial pressure
■ Sphygmomanometer: instrument used to measure arterial
blood pressure
■ Systolic pressure: the contraction, or period of contraction, of
the heart, especially of the ventricles.
■ Diastolic pressure: the dilatation, or the period of dilatation of
the heart, especially of the ventricles.
Clinical Disorders of the Circulatory System
■ Anemia: reduction below normal of RBCs, hemoglobin, a
symptom of various disorders
■ Aneurysm: a sac formed by localized dilatation of an artery or
vein
■ Angina Pectoris: chest pain; caused by decreased supply of
oxygen to the heart muscle
■ Arrhythmia: variation from normal rhythm of heartbeat
■ Arteriosclerosis: thickening and loss of elasticity of the arterial
walls, slowing the flow of blood
■ Asytole: cardiac standstill, no heartbeat
■ Atherosclerosis: a form of arteriosclerosis in which fats (e.g.,
cholesterol) are deposited on the arterial wall s
■ Cardiac arrest: cessation of heart function
■ Coarctation: stricture or narrowing of a vessel
■ Patent ductus: birth defect: duct with an abnormal open
■ Congestive Heart Failure (CHF): defective blood pumping
system, marked by breathlessness and abnormal retention of
salt and water
■ Embolism: a foreign object (i.e., air, fat, tissue, or blood) by
blood forced into a smaller vessel, thus obstructing the
circulation
■ Endocarditis: exudative and proliferative inflammation of the
endocardium
Heart attack
■ Occlusion: obstruction, closure of the coronary arteries
■ Coronary thrombosis: thrombosis of the coronary artery ,
often leading to myocardial infarction
■ Myocardial Infarction: gross necrosis of the myocardium,
caused by decreased blood supply to the area
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■ Infarction: a localized area of ischemic necrosis due to
occlusion of the arterial supply
■ Hemophilia: a hereditary hemorrhagic condition caused by lack
of one or more clotting factors
■ Hodgkin’s Disease: painless progressive enlargement of the
lymph nodes, spleen, and lymphoid tissue. Symptoms includes
anorexia, weight loss, night sweats and anemia
■ Ischemia: deficiency of blood in a part; due to spasm of blood
vessel, temporarily reducing blood flow
■ Leukemia: a malignant disease of blood forming organs;
■ e.g., abnormal proliferation and development of leukocytes
and related cells in blood and bone marrow
■ Dyscrasia: any abnormal condition of the blood
■ Endarterectomy: excision of the innermost coat of an artery to
increase blood flow
■ Heparin: a substance that counteracts blood clotting
■ Lumen: the cavity or channel within a tube
■ Phlebotomy: incision of the vein
■ Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA):
dilatation of balloon catheter inserted into the vessel and
passed to the lesion, where the balloon is inflated to flatten
plaque against the arterial wall
■ Tachycardia: abnormally rapid heart beat

■ Vasodilator: agent that dilates blood vessel

■ Plaque: a deposit of fatty material in the artery
■ Vasopressor: agent that constricts blood vessel
■ Pericarditis: inflammation of the pericardium
■ Venipuncture: puncture of a vein with needle to width draw
■ Rheumatic Heart Disease: is a complication of rheumatic fever blood or infuse fluid
in which the heart valves are damaged.
Abbreviations
■ Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that begins with
■ ALL: Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
strep throat. It can affect connective tissue throughout the
body, especially in the heart, joints, brain and skin. ■ AML: Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia (myeloblast: a primitive
■ Stroke (Cerebrovascular Accident CVA): a sudden and acute bone marrow WBC)
vascular lesion of the brain caused by hemorrhage, embolism, ■ ASD: Arterial Septal Defect
thrombosis or rupturing blood vessel
■ Baso: Basophil
■ Thrombophlebitis: inflammation of a vein associated with
thrombus formation ■ BP: Blood Pressure
■ Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA): brief interruption of
■ CABG: Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
circulation to a portion of the brain due to vascular spasm,
causing temporary loss of function. A precursor to CVA ■ CBC: complete Blood Count
■ Varicose Veins: a dilated, tortuous vein, usually in the leg; ■ CCU: Coronary Care Unit
caused by a defective venous valve
■ CHF: Congestive Heart Failure
Miscellaneous Terms
■ CPR: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
■ Angiography: radiographic study of the blood vessel
■ CVA: Cerebrovascular Accident
■ Angioplasty: surgical or percutaneous reconstruction of the
blood vessels ■ ECG, EKG: electrocardiogram

■ Anticoagulant: any substance that removes or prevents blood ■ Eos: Eosinophil

clotting
■ Lymph: Lymphocyte
■ Bradycardia: slowness of heartbeat, pulse rate less than 60
■ MI: Myocardial Infarction
■ Bypass: a surgically created route to circumvent the normal
path ■ PTCA: Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty

■ Cardiac catheterization: procedure used to diagnose and ■ PVC: premature Ventricular Contractions
treat cardiovascular conditions. A long fine catheter is
■ RBC: Red Blood Cells
navigated through a peripheral blood vessel into the chambers
of the heart using x-ray visualization as guide ■ TIA: Transient Ischemic Attack
■ Diuretic: an agent that promotes removal of excess interstitial
■ VSD: Ventricular Septal Defect
fluid and results to increased urine secretion

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■ WBC: White Blood Cell