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Forced perturbation of respiratory system

B. A Continuum mechanics analysis

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Abstract

The conventional model of the respiratory system is based on an electric analog of an LRC-circuit, or a mechanical analog of a mass-spring-damper system characterized by inertance, resistance, and complicance. The meaning of the three constants, L, R, and C must be related to the airway geometry, elasticity, and boundary conditions. In order to clarify this basic relationship, we remove the restriction of one degree of freedom and present an analysis of the respiratory system as a continuous elastic body. The extra- and intralobular airways, the lung parenchyma, the chest wall, the diaphragm muscle, and the abdominal organs are considered separately. The governing equations are linearized by considering small perturbations. In the case of a small pressure pulse applied at the mouth, the expansion of the airways and the resulting flow are computed. The results indicate that a predominant effect of the forced oscillation test is the expansion of the extralobular airways. The resistance computed from the experimental data according to the LRC-circuit analog depends strongly on theelastic properties of the airway walls, as well as the pressure drop in the upper airway due to viscous friction and turbulence in the flow.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 630 West 168th Street, 10032, New York, New York

    Geert W. Schmid-Schoenbein

  2. AMES-Bioengineering, The University of California at San Diego, M-005, 92093, La Jolla, California

    Y. C. Fung

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  1. Geert W. Schmid-Schoenbein
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  2. Y. C. Fung
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Schmid-Schoenbein, G.W., Fung, Y.C. Forced perturbation of respiratory system. Ann Biomed Eng 6, 367–398 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02584546

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02584546

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