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A pulmonary alveolus (pl. alveoli; from Latin alveolus 'little cavity'), also called an air sac or air space, is one of millions of hollow, distensible cup-shaped cavities in the lungs where pulmonary gas exchange takes place. [1] Oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide at the blood–air barrier between the alveolar air and the pulmonary ...
The rest of the difference is due to the continual uptake of oxygen by the pulmonary capillaries, and the continual diffusion of CO 2 out of the capillaries into the alveoli. The alveolar pO 2 is not routinely measured but is calculated from blood gas measurements by the alveolar gas equation .
The alveolar type II epithelial cells are more resistant to damage, so after an insult to the alveoli, most of the damage will occur to the alveolar type I epithelial cells. [5] Left side demonstrate the structure of a normal alveolus including the difference between type I and type II alveolar epithelial cells.
The alveoli are tiny air sacs in the lungs where gas exchange takes place. The mean number of alveoli in a human lung is 480 million. [11] When the diaphragm contracts, a negative pressure is generated in the thorax and air rushes in to fill the cavity. When that happens, these sacs fill with air, making the lung expand.
Transpulmonary pressure is the difference between the alveolar pressure and the intrapleural pressure in the pleural cavity. During human ventilation, air flows because of pressure gradients. P tp = P alv – P ip. Where P tp is transpulmonary pressure, P alv is alveolar pressure, and P ip is intrapleural pressure.
Intraalveolar blood vessels (pulmonary capillaries) are thin walled vessels adjacent to alveoli which are subject to the pressure changes described by zones 1-3. Flow in zone 4 is governed by the arteriointerstitial pressure difference (Pa − Pi). This is because as Pi rises, the arterial caliber is reduced, thereby increasing resistance to flow.
This marked difference between the composition of the alveolar air and that of the ambient air can be maintained because the functional residual capacity is contained in dead-end sacs connected to the outside air by fairly narrow and relatively long tubes (the airways: nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi and their branches down to the ...
Emphysema. Collateral ventilation is a back-up system of alveolar ventilation that can bypass the normal route of airflow when airways are restricted or obstructed. The pathways involved include those between adjacent alveoli (pores of Kohn), between bronchioles and alveoli (canals of Lambert), and those between bronchioles (channels of Martin).