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)