Respiratory system aint no joke

[bsugar888]

:coollook:..........Good evening all.............Respiratory is a very confusing subject or is it just me:o............................Can someone who knows the respiratory system well....explain the difference between

ventilation and perfusion???....ok all here is my thought.

ventilation is the act of breathing in and out....and perfusion is oxygen to the body parts...or tissues....am I correct????

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

This is a question that can be answered very easily by looking these two words up in a medical dictionary.

[seanpdent, ADN, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP]

In it's basic definition.. yep. You got it.

[yoginurse2b]

Respiration consists of three steps: 1) ventilation 2) diffusion and 3) perfusion.

Ventilation is where you get O2 from atmosphere by inhaling, and get rid of CO2 by exhaling. It's a mechanical process. It's starts from the nose and mouth, down the trach, to the bronchi and bronchioles.

Diffusion happens in the alveoli, where O2 passes from alveoli to the blood and get picked up by hemoglobin; and CO2 passes from blood to the alveoli to be expelled.

Perfusion is where O2 from hemoglobin gets dissociated and goes into the tissues; and CO2 from tissues to the hemoglobin, and eventually to the alveoli, bronchioles, bronchi, trach, mouth/nose and out to the atmosphere.

Hope that helps!

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Yogi - beautiful definition! Where were you when that used to confuse me?!

Bsugar - in case you find yourself stumped and you're at clinicals, here's something I used to do. I used to LOVE to corner RTs and ask them my respiratory questions. It always seemed to me that the RTs are always ready to talk about their jobs and their profession, and I've never had one refuse a question (I don't think they get asked stuff like that very often, and they jump at the chance to teach). I once asked an RT about oscillating ventilators when I was observing in the MICU. I ended up with a thirty-minute lecture on them, right down to their benefits, risks, and specific indications for use; this guy was so excited that someone asked him a question that he did everything but hook me up to one! He took ten minutes explaining to me how they worked!

It's been my experience that an RT will answer anything, anywhere, almost anytime. So if you ever find yourself on the floor during clinicals and you're stuck with some pulmonary mystery, an RT is a GREAT resource. They'll talk about partial pressures and gas exchange for HOURS!