2008 Volume 28 Issue 5 Pages 711-721
The field of respiratory physiology covers a wide range of research topics such as the studies on pulmonary ventilation, gas exchange in the lungs, the transport of gases by the blood, and the mechanism of tissue metabolism. The great advances achieved after the 20 century have solved many problems related to alveolar gas exchange or alveolar ventilation. Respiratory management is the most specialized area in clinical practice for anesthesiologists and the anesthesiologists are required to have basic knowledge of alveolar ventilation. To clearly understand alveolar ventilation, it is necessary to understand both the control of breathing and the function of respiratory system as a gas exchange organ. Furthermore, to understand the clinical pathology of respiration, it is important to understand the effects of general anesthesia and narcotics on the control of breathing, as well as the factors influencing maldistribution of ventilation, abnormal ventilation/perfusion ratio, and increases in pulmonary shunt.
