Fluid in LUNGS???

TazziRN, RN · Jun 25, 2007

Google "congestive heart failure"

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jun 25, 2007

As I was reading your question I was thinking that in another time these would have made very good essay questions for a pathophysiology class! So, I'll try to give you a shortened essay type of answer and apologize to those who find I might have left anything out.

Fluids can be composed of many different substances: water and blood come to mind. The cells and tissues of our body contain fluids that are rich in many different substances that include electrolytes, proteins and a lot of other things. Any one of these types of fluid can build up in the lungs or the pleural space, which is the space formed by the protective membrane that surrounds the lungs. In particular, if we aren't careful in how we feed patients, liquids can end up going down into the lungs rather than the stomach. The result is fluid, of one type of another, in the lungs.

How the fluid gets there in the lung is another thing. It can build up through the natural processes of the body or through some kind of trauma. In a number of disease situations, our normal body fluids will build up in the lungs. It can be due to a problem with the heart, the kidneys or the liver. It can be due to a cancer. The fluid can be pus which is a byproduct of the body trying to fight off an infection in the lung. It can be blood due to the trauma of being stabbed or shot with a bullet resulting in the rupture of one of more blood vessels in the area hemorrhaging directly into the lung tissue.

Each of these conditions has a medical term and diagnosis for them. When you get into nursing school, and perhaps even before, you will be learning about them. Most nursing students first have to learn normal anatomy and physiology of the lung. Next, they learn the pathophysiology of the lung, that is, what happens when the normal physiology goes haywire. We nurses learn what we can do to help assist the patients in coping with those situations as well as carrying out the doctor's orders in treating them. Doesn't that make you excited?

Here's a few links to websites about some of the conditions I mentioned above where you can read about them. I chose them from consumer websites so they weren't too technical to understand. Happy reading!

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/asthma/article_em.htm - An asthma attach causes the air passageways to become irritated and the mucus glands go into overdrive causing fluid to build up in the lungs
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/bacterial_pneumonia/article_em.htm - Bacterial pneumonia not only causes irritation in the air passages from but the build up of pus as well, all of which result in fluid build up in the lungs
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/bronchitis/article_em.htm - Bronchitis, especially chronic bronchitis
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/chronic_obstructive_pulmonary_disease_copd/article_em.htm - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/collapsed_lung/article_em.htm - Collapsed lung
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/congestive_heart_failure/article_em.htm - Congestive Heart Failure
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/drowning/article_em.htm - Drowning
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/lung_cancer/article_em.htm - Lung cancer
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/allergic_reaction/article_em.htm - Allergic reaction
http://firstaid.about.com/od/softtissueinjuries/ht/07_gunshots.htm - Gunshot wounds

Edema collects in the cells and tissues of the legs for two primary reasons:

Osmotic pressure between the intravascular space and the extravascular space is unequal and the body is attempting to equalize it, or
There is an underlying problem with the heart as a pump, or
There is an underlying problem with the vasculature in the lower extremities

The result is that fluid gets trapped in the cells and tissues of the legs and feet. You will learn about these problems when you deepen your study of fluids and electrolytes and your study of the heart and cardiovascular system. The renal system plays some involvement in this as well. I was just discussing the underlying problem of an obstetrical patient's leg edema with another student who was working on a care plan yesterday and this morning at this thread: https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/help-w-goal-outcome-232240.html

studentIVlife · Jun 30, 2007

Daytonite, thank you soooooo much. I can't wait to start learning all the cool stuff about the body. I tried reading up on a&p but I can't understand it. Or it just doesn't stay with me. I don't know if I have a learning disability or somethining. I have never been told but OMG I forget everything. I am taking a&p this fall and I am scared to death because of the fact that I foget everything I read. I even tried Mneumonics but I forget them too. . Any suggestions???

I can't wait to learn. Thanks again. This was a lot of help

smk1, LPN · Jun 30, 2007

hmm, from an A&P standpoint it might be helpful tp think about the pathway of blood through the heart. Blood flows from the vena cavae into the right atrium through the right atrioventricular valve into the right ventricle through the pulmonary semilunar valve into the pulmonary artery to arterioles to the lungs then the blood leaves (under normal circumstances) the lungs via the pulmonary vein and flows into the left atrium through the left atrioventricular valve into the left ventricle and out of the heart via the aortic semilunar valve into the aorta for general circulation. If there is a problem with the left ventricle pump ability or the left AV valve patency (or other issues, but these are two big ones) blood will back up through the left AV valve back into the left atrium and back up through the venous system into the lungs. This pathway helped me tremendously when learning about CHF.

beth66335, BSN, RN · Jul 23, 2007

Try googling the lymphatic system also. You learn about this body system in both A&P 1&2, but more in 2. Our circulatory system carries nutrients to our cells and delivers it by osmotic pressures, this introduces more fluid to the interstitial spaces between our cells. The lymph vessels take extra fluids (lymph) back to our heart buy way of muscles squeezing as we move. It dumps back into our circulatory system by way of the lymphatic and thoracic ducts into the R & L Subclavian veins. CHF and other disorders probably affect this by introducing to much fluid. 90% of the fluid usually goes back to the capillaries of the circulatory system in a healthy person. Poor pressure would screw up the osmotic pressure. My M-In-L had knee replacement 4 years ago and her lymphatic vessels were damaged so she has edema in that leg and foot all the time now. I don't always explain real well, just ask my kiddos, but I found good info on Google under Lymphatic System in Humans. As far as the lungs go in disorders like CHF all tissues are fair game for fluid buildup and lungs are full of pockets and spongy! Hope this helps!

I just wanted to mention that I am not a nurse but I was curious to know how does the lung get fill with fluids?? and Why??? IS it blood?? or Fluid?? I don't get it. Is there a book I can read about this. Then I see some people with edema on their legs?? Why and how does that happen?? Any advice would be appreciated
thanks