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The alveolar oxygen partial pressure is lower than the atmospheric O 2 partial pressure for two reasons. Firstly, as the air enters the lungs, it is humidified by the upper airway and thus the partial pressure of water vapour (47 mmHg) reduces the oxygen partial pressure to about 150 mmHg.
If 'transpulmonary pressure' = 0 (alveolar pressure = intrapleural pressure), such as when the lungs are removed from the chest cavity or air enters the intrapleural space (a pneumothorax), the lungs collapse as a result of their inherent elastic recoil. Under physiological conditions the transpulmonary pressure is always positive; intrapleural ...
Image illustrating transpulmonary, intrapleural and intra-alveolar pressure. Alveolar pressure (P alv) is the pressure of air inside the lung alveoli. When the glottis is opened and no air is flowing into or out of the lungs, alveolar pressure is equal to the atmospheric pressure, that is, zero cmH 2 O. [1] [2]
At rest, there is a negative intrapleural pressure. This provides a transpulmonary pressure, causing the lungs to expand. If humans didn't maintain a slightly negative pressure even when exhaling, their lungs would collapse on themselves because all the air would rush towards the area of lower pressure. Intra-pleural pressure is sub-atmospheric.
The alveolar air pressure is therefore always close to atmospheric air pressure (about 100 kPa at sea level) at rest, with the pressure gradients because of lungs contraction and expansion cause air to move in and out of the lungs during breathing rarely exceeding 2–3 kPa. [18] [19] During exhalation, the diaphragm and intercostal muscles relax.
Atmospheric pressure decreases with the height above sea level (altitude) and since the alveoli are open to the outside air through the open airways, the pressure in the lungs also decreases at the same rate with altitude. At altitude, a pressure differential is still required to drive air into and out of the lungs as it is at sea level.
The increased lung pressure pushes the air out of the lungs. [2] The primary function of ventilation is the replacement of the stale gases in the lungs with oxygen-rich air through the removal of carbon dioxide for oxygenation of the blood. [5] The oxygen is then supplied to the entire body through the circulatory system.
The alveolar gas equation is the method for calculating partial pressure of alveolar oxygen (p A O 2). The equation is used in assessing if the lungs are properly transferring oxygen into the blood. The alveolar air equation is not widely used in clinical medicine, probably because of the complicated appearance of its classic forms.