Running head: RESPIRATORY LAB REPORT 1

Respiratory lab report

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Course

Date
RESPIRATORY LAB REPORT 2

Abstract

Respiratory volumes are volumes of air that are exchanged with each breath a person

takes. These volumes are measured by use of spirometers. They include tidal volume, which is

the amount of air exchanged during normal breath; it is known to be about 500ml in healthy

adults. Expiratory reserve volume is the volume of air that can be expired after tidal expiration. It

is known to be between (700-1200 ml) of air. While the inspiratory reserve volume is the amount

of air that may be inspired after a tidal inspiration. It is known to be between (1900-3100ml) of

air.

The experiment was done to compare all these lungs volumes with the normal lung

volume to come out with the results that smokers have different volumes with nonsmokers in

different ages. The results were obtained in the experiment showing different volumes were

some smokers and nonsmokers’ lung volumes were recorded to be higher, and others to be lower

than expected lung volumes.

Introduction

In this experiment, the main aim was to record a specific lung volume as well as come

out with calculation of specific lung capacities and be able to compare the observed values in the

experiment and also the normal values. The extra target was to contrast the qualities gathered

with others in the class. Pneumonic capacity tests are commonly used to gauge how successfully

climatic gases are breathed in or breathed out from the lungs. How well these are breathed shows

how well the lung moves and evacuates oxygen and carbon dioxide into and out of blood

dissemination individually. The fundamental reason for these tests is to reveal pneumonic

impedances.
RESPIRATORY LAB REPORT 3

Material and Methods

In this experiment, material like wet and handheld spirometer and disposable mouthpiece

were used. The spirometer was used to measure tidal volume, inspiratory reserve volume, and

residual volume. To be able to calculate the inspiratory capacity, functional residual capacity,

vital capacity, total lung capacity and the forced expiratory ventilation.

Procedure

 Obtain disposable mouthpiece and put it at the end of the tube

 Practice inhaling several time using the tube and exhale using the tube

 Measure the tidal volume

 Sit down with your back straight and your eye closed.

 Inhale normal breath and exhale the air through a tube

 Take several measurements and find their average.

 Measure the expiratory reserve volume.

 Before taking the measurement, inhale and exhale a series of tidal volume.

 Breath out a normal tidal expiration put the mouthpiece to your mouth and exhales as

forcibly as possible.

 Perform several measurements and get the average.

 Measure the vital capacity

 As before inhale and exhale a series of tidal volumes.

 Bend over and exhale maximally.

 Rise and inhale as much air as you possibly can.

 Quickly place the mouthpiece to your mouth and exhale as forcibly as long as possible.

 Take several measurements and calculate the average.

RESPIRATORY LAB REPORT 4

 Calculate inspiratory reserve volume.

 Take vital volume capacity (VC), tidal volume (TV) and expiratory reserve volume

(FRV), i.e. VC-TV+ IRV. Then recall equation IRV-VC-(TV+ERV).

Results

Below is an example of single results obtained from one of the participants.

Table 1

Lung volume Measurement 1 Measurement 2 Measurement 3 Average volume

TV 200 ml 250 ml 200 ml 216 ml

ERV 1500 ml 1900 ml 1200 ml 1533 ml

VC 3000 ml 2800 ml 2900 ml 2900 ml

Calculations

2900-(216+1533) =1151 ml of IRV.

Total Lung Capacity = Inspiratory Reserve Volume (IRV) + Tidal Volume (TV) + Expiratory

Reserve Volume (ERV) + Residual Volume (RV)

Vital Capacity = Inspiratory Reserve Volume (IRV) + Tidal Volume (TV) + Expiratory Reserve

Volume (ERV)

Inspiratory Capacity = Inspiratory Reserve Volume (IRV) + Tidal Volume (TV)

Functional Residual Capacity = Expiratory Reserve Volume (ERV) + Residual Volume (RV).
RESPIRATORY LAB REPORT 5

The experiment was examined for fourteen participants, both gender where some were

smokers and others not smokers with different ages.

Table 2

Age sex Height Smokers(S)/nonsmokers TV ERV IRV VC

(N.S)

19 M 6’0 N.S 833.33 1733.33 2500 5066.66

29 F 5’7 N.S 433 1333 1634 3400

50 F 5’8 N.S 416 1333 684 2433

18 F 5’4 N.S 223 863 2671 3757

24 F 5’5 N.S 533.33 1150 2516.67 4200

25 F 5’2 S 400 1133 1933 3466

36 F 5’4 N.S 300 800 2066 3166

32 F 5’4 N.S 133 567 1867 2567

19 F 5’3 N.S 600 1116 1050 2766

18 F 5’2 N.S 483 916 2601 4000

24 F 5’2 N.S 216 1533 1151 2900

19 F 5’3 N.S 183.3 1400 1550 3133.3

21 F 5’5 N.S 400 1133 1033 2566

22 F 5’6 N.S 433 1677 167 2267

From the above results we choose to compare the different ages with total IRV and came

up with the tread below;

RESPIRATORY LAB REPORT 6

Table 3

Ag 19 29 50 18 24 25 36 32 19 18 24 19 21 22

IR 250 163 86 247 251 193 206 186 105 260 115 155 103 16

V 0 4 4 1 7 3 6 7 0 1 1 0 3 7

From table 1, it can be seen that the above table was taken to illustrate how the results in

table 2 were obtained. It can also be seen from Table 2, the average values for Tidal Volume

(TV), Inspiratory Reserve Volume (IRV), Expiratory Reserve Volume (ERV) and Vital Capacity

(VC) for females and males have been recorded. Most of the participants from the results were

nonsmokers, where only one participant was a smoker. Again we can say that from the table, the

number of male participants was only one where the rest were female.
RESPIRATORY LAB REPORT 7

In table 2, the values for TV, VC, IRV, and ERV have been recorded for all the

participants observed during the experiment by use of spirometer. Some additional information

about the activity was also recorded for consideration in the discussion section.

Discussions

From table two, it was seen that most of the results observed were from female

participants. It is only one male average from table 2 was considered for the comparison of the

results to known averages of lung volumes. It is seen that only two females and one male of

different ages recorded tidal volume (TV), which is above the normal average. The rest were

female, and their TVs were below the normal tidal volume of 500 ml. Since the tidal volume is

air moved in and out of the lungs during normal breathing, it was possible that apart from

smoking or not smoking, lifestyles in different people affected the condition of how well the

lungs of the participants can move the atmospheric gases.

All the ERVs were seen to be above the normal range of 700 ml for all the participants.

Some of them recorded higher values than normal where there were seen values more than 1200

ml. Only three participants one male and two females, had their ERVs above the normal value.

This indicated that there was a sensory problem or human error which might have interfered with

the reading from the spirometers.

Only five participants, one man and four females’ recorder and IRVs that were above the

average as from the table and graph in table 3, this means that there a low volume of air being

moved into the lungs during maximum inhalation was recorded .the rest recorded low IRVs as

compared to the normal breath of IRVs.Because nearly all of the ERVs recorded were above

normal, this meant that the air being moved out of the lungs during maximum exhalation was
RESPIRATORY LAB REPORT 8

well above that which is found in the average human being. The height of the participants did not

matter as such in our experiment as some taller participants were inhaling small volume of air

than other short participants. Age brought a lot of difference in IRVs, as illustrated in the graph.

Conclusion

From the above experiment, we can see that different people have different breathing

ability. Again the breathing ability can be seen to be higher in male than female as we compare

the results in table 2. Because the recorded and calculated volumes and capacities observed for

the experiment deviated so greatly from the average, the sensors in the spirometers may require

calibration before the measurements were taken. The spirometer used was especially poor at

measuring the volumes it was designated. More trials of this experiment must be done before any

strong conclusions besides those already mentioned above may be drawn. This would have given

the accurate lung volumes.

RESPIRATORY LAB REPORT 9

References

Klose, H. (2017). Endoscopic lung volume reduction coil treatment in patients with chronic

hypercapnic respiratory failure: an observational study. Therapeutic advances in

respiratory disease, 11(1), 9-19.

Schachter, L. M. (2015). Optimising respiratory function assessments to elucidate the impact of

obesity on respiratory health. Respirology, 20(5), 715-721

Brashier, B., & Salvi, S. (2015). Measuring lung function using sound waves: the role of the

forced oscillation technique and impulse oscillometry system. Breathe, 11(1), 57-65.