This concept covers the pressure relationships governing lung inflation and deflation at rest, within the domain of respiratory physiology/pulmonology. It defines intrapulmonary (intra-alveolar), intrapleural, and atmospheric pressures, and derives transpulmonary pressure (intrapulmonary minus intrapleural) and transthoracic pressure (intrapleural minus atmospheric) as the pressure gradients across the lung wall and chest wall respectively. The theory explains, via Boyle's law (inverse pressure-volume relationship) and the opposing elastic recoil forces of the lungs (elasticity plus surface tension) versus the chest wall, why intrapleural pressure is normally negative relative to atmospheric and intrapulmonary pressure, and how that negative pressure keeps the lungs inflated against their own tendency to collapse.
This concept covers the pressure relationships governing lung inflation and deflation at rest, within the domain of respiratory physiology/pulmonology. It defines intrapulmonary (intra-alveolar), int…