Dead Space and The Ventilated Patient
The depth and frequency of our breathing is determined by chemoreceptors and the brainstem, as modified by a number of subjective sensations. When ventilated, the patient breathes at a rate and tidal volume that is dictated by the machine. Because of dead space, taking deep breaths more slowly (e.g. ten 500 ml breaths per minute) is more effective than taking shallow breaths quickly (e.g. twenty 250 ml breaths per minute). Although the amount of gas per minute is the same (5 L/min), a large proportion of the shallow breaths is dead space, and does not allow oxygen to get into the blood.
Read more about this topic: Dead Space (physiology)
Famous quotes containing the words dead, space and/or patient:
“It’s easier to replace a dead man than a good picture.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Through space the universe encompasses and swallows me up like an atom; through thought I comprehend the world.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
“Narcissist: psychoanalytic term for the person who loves himself more than his analyst; considered to be the manifestation of a dire mental disease whose successful treatment depends on the patient learning to love the analyst more and himself less.”
—Thomas Szasz (b. 1920)