Mechanical Ventilation: Respiratory Physiology and Conventional Ventilation

This three-part review is intended to enable the reader to manage the fundamentals of mechanical ventilation in both the urgent and the nonurgent setting. This first chapter provides a functional understanding of basic pulmonary physiology as a prerequisite knowledge base prior to reviewing the concepts central to basic, traditional, and cyclical ventilation that is regularly employed in the air or ground ambulance, emergency department, operating room, and intensive care unit. Subsequent chapters will review advanced ventilation modes, adjuncts, and special problems encountered in patients with respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. Each segment is intended to build on the preceding one and therefore establishes a functional unit with regard to mechanical ventilation, whether it is provided in an invasive or a noninvasive fashion. This review contains 5 Figures and 10 references Key Words: acute respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, hypercapnia/therapy, hypoxia/therapy, mechanical ventilation, pulmonary gas exchange