Mar 28, 2024  
Spring 2019 Catalog 
    
Spring 2019 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

RC 112 - Respiratory Care Sciences


Credit Hours: 3

This course is designed to present an overview of the science of breathing. Topics to be covered include the following: states of matter; basic cardiopulmonary anatomy and physiology; mechanics of ventilation; gas exchange and transport; regulation of breathing along with basic solutions; and electrolyte chemistry related to cardiopulmonary care.

Course Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • demonstrate an understanding of the gas behavior under changing conditions;
    • what are the gas laws; and
    • how to predict gas behavior under changing conditions including extremes temperature and pressure.
  • demonstrate an understanding of basic cardiopulmonary anatomy and physiology.
    • what constitutes upper and lower airway anatomy and how each functions;
    • what are the defense mechanisms of the lung;
    • what are the various lung volumes;
    • how the anatomy of the heart and vascular systems relate to their function;
    • what key properties are characteristic of cardiac tissue;
    • how local and central control mechanisms regulate the heart and vascular systems;
    • how the cardiovascular system coordinates its functions under normal and abnormal conditions; and
    • how the electrical and mechanical events of the heart relate to a normal cardiac cycle.
  • demonstrate an understanding of the mechanics of ventilation;
    • what physiological purposes ventilation serves;
    • what pressure gradients are responsible for gas movement and lung inflation;
    • what forces oppose gas movement into and out of the lungs;
    • how surface tension contributes to lung recoil;
    • how lung, chest wall, and total compliance are related;
    • what factors affect airway resistance;
    • how various lung diseases affect the work of breathing;
    • why ventilation is not evenly distributed throughout the lung;
    • how the time constants affect alveolar filling and emptying;
    • what factors affect alveolar ventilation and why they are important; and
    • how to calculate alveolar ventilation, dead space, and the VD/VT.
  • demonstrate an understanding of gas exchange and transport;
    • how oxygen and carbon dioxide move between the atmosphere and tissues;
    • what determines alveolar oxygen and carbon dioxide pressures;
    • how to compute the alveolar partial pressure of oxygen;
    • what effect normal regional variations in ventilation and perfusion have on gas exchange;
    • how to compute total oxygen contents for arterial blood;
    • what causes the arteriovenous oxygen content difference to change;
    • what factors affect oxygen loading and unloading from hemoglobin;
    • how carbon dioxide is carried in the blood;
    • how oxygen and carbon dioxide transport are interrelated;
    • what factors impair oxygen delivery to the tissues and how to distinguish among them; and
    • what factors impair carbon dioxide removal.
  • demonstrate an understanding of the regulation of breathing;
    • where the structures regulating breathing are located;
    • how the inspiratory and expiratory neurons in the medulla establish the basic pattern of breathing;
    • what effect the impulses from the pneumotaxic and apneustic centers in the pons have on the medullary centers of breathing;
    • the effect various reflexes have on breathing;
    • how the central and peripheral chemoreceptors differ in the way they regulate breathing;
    • why the central chemoreceptors respond differently to respiratory and nonrespiratory acid-based conditions;
    • how the regulation of breathing in individuals with chronic hypercapia differs from the regulation of breathing in healthy persons;
    • why administering oxygen to patients with chronic hypercapnia poses a special risk that is not present in healthy individuals;
    • why ascending to a high altitude has different immediate and long-term effects of ventilation;
    • why mechanically ventilated patients with head injuries may benefit from deliberate hyperventilation; and
    • how to characterize abnormal breathing problems.
  • demonstrate an understanding of basic solutions, electrolytes, and acid-base balance;
    • what the characteristics of solutions are, including concentrations of solutes;
    • how osmotic pressure functions and what its action is in relation to cell membranes;
    • where fluid compartments are located in the body and what their volumes are;
    • how water loss and replacement occur;
    • what roles are played by osmotic and hydrostatic pressure in edema;
    • what clinical findings are associated with excess or deficiency of the seven basic electrolytes;
    • how the lungs and kidneys regulate volatile and fixed acids;
    • how to use the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation in hypothetical clinical situations;
    • how the kidneys and lungs compensate for each other when the function of one is abnormal;
    • how renal absorption and excretion of electrolytes affect acid-base balance;
    • how to classify and interpret arterial blood and acid-base status;
    • how to use arterial acid-base information to decide on a clinical course of action;
    • why acute changes in the blood’s carbon dioxide level affect the blood’s bicarbonate ion concentration;
    • how to calculate the anion gap and use it to determine the cause of metabolic acidosis; and
    • how standard bicarbonate and base excess measurements are used to identify the non-respiratory component of acid-based imbalances.


Prerequisites: Matriculation in the Respiratory Care Program or permission of the department. All Respiratory Care coursework must be taken in sequential order.
F (N)