19/10/25, 16:21 PhysioEx Exercise 7 Activity 2
PhysioEx Lab Report
Exercise 7: Respiratory System Mechanics
Activity 2: Comparative Spirometry
Name: Fisio spirometry
Date: 19 October 2025
Session ID: session-f2fa10e6-d1ed-d82a-43ac-8dc7e0ca3f58
Pre-lab Quiz Results
You scored 100% by answering 5 out of 5 questions correctly.
1 A normal resting tidal volume is expected to be around
You correctly answered: 500 ml.
2 Which respiratory process is impaired the most by emphysema?
You correctly answered: expiration.
3 During an asthma attack
You correctly answered: inspiration and expiration are impaired.
4 During moderate aerobic exercise, which respiratory variable increases the most?
You correctly answered: tidal volume.
5 Inhaler medications for an asthma patient are designed to
You correctly answered: dilate the patient's bronchioles.
Experiment Results
Predict Questions
1 Predict Question 1: With emphysema, there is a significant loss of elastic recoil in the lung
tissue and a noticeable, exhausting muscular effort is required for each expiration.
Inspiration actually becomes easier because the lung is now overly compliant.
Using the spirogram, calculate the lung value most affected by the emphysema condition.
Your answer: FEV1 (%).
2 Predict Question 2: During an acute asthma attack, airway resistance is significantly
increased by (1) increased thick mucous secretions and (2) airway smooth muscle
spasms.
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To which lung value in the spirogram would you see the greatest change in a patient
suffering from an acute asthma attack?
Your answer: FEV1 (%).
3 Predict Question 3: When an acute asthma attack occurs, many people seek relief from
the increased airway resistance by using an inhaler. This device atomizes the medication
and induces bronchiole dilation (though it can also contain an anti-inflammatory agent).
Which lung value remained relatively unchanged when comparing a patient with an acute
asthma attack, acute asthma attack with inhaler, and normal?
Your answer: TV.
4 Predict Question 4: During moderate aerobic exercise, the human body will change its
respiratory cycle in order to meet increased metabolic demands. During heavy exercise,
further changes in respiration are required to meet the extreme metabolic demands of
the body.
Which lung value will change more during moderate exercise, the ERV or the IRV?
Your answer: ERV.
Stop & Think Questions
1 When obstructive lung disease develops, what happens to the FEV1 (%)?
You correctly answered: It decreases.
2 Compared with the normal patient, what happened to the FVC in this patient?
You correctly answered: It decreased.
3 Compared with the normal patient, what happened to the FEV1 in this patient?
You correctly answered: It decreased.
4 Compared with the normal patient, what happened to the FVC in this patient?
You correctly answered: It decreased.
5 Compared with the normal patient, what happened to the FEV1 in this patient?
You correctly answered: It decreased.
6 Which value in the spirogram never changed from that of the normal patient?
Your answer: TV.
Correct answer: TLC.
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7 For both types of exercise, the tidal volumes and breathing rates were increased.
Compared with normal values, did tidal volume or breathing rate increase more during
moderate exercise? (Determine the percentage by which each value changed.)
Your answer: breathing rate.
Correct answer: tidal volume.
Experiment Data
Patient Type TV ERV IRV RV FVC TLC FEV1 FEV1(%)
Heavy Exercise 3650 750 600 1000 ND 6000 ND ND
Moderate Exercise 1875 1125 2000 1000 ND 6000 ND ND
Asthma Attack
500 1500 2800 1200 4800 6000 3840 80%
Plus Inhaler
Acute Asthma
300 750 2700 2250 3750 6000 1500 40%
Attack
Emphysema 500 750 2000 2750 3250 6000 1625 50%
Normal 500 1500 3000 1000 5000 6000 4000 80%
Normal
Emphysema
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Acute Asthma Attack
Asthma Attack Plus Inhaler
Moderate Exercise
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Heavy Exercise
Post-lab Quiz Results
You scored 100% by answering 5 out of 5 questions correctly.
1 Which of the following respiratory values represents a decreased flow rate during the
obstructive lung disease(s)?
You correctly answered: FEV1.
2 Calculate the ERV of an individual with the following respiratory volumes: TLC = 6000 ml,
FVC = 4800 ml, RV = 1200 ml, IRV = 2900 ml, TV = 500 ml.
You correctly answered: 1400 ml.
3 Calculate the FVC of an individual with the following respiratory volumes: RV = 1000 ml,
IRV = 3000 ml, TV = 500 ml, ERV = 1500 ml.
You correctly answered: 5000 ml.
4 What is the largest volume for the normal patient?
You correctly answered: IRV.
5 What happened to the RV for the emphysema patient and the asthmatic patient?
You correctly answered: It decreased for both patients.
Review Sheet Results
1 What lung values changed (from those of the normal patient) in the spirogram when the
patient with emphysema was selected? Why did these values change as they did? How
well did the results compare with your prediction?
Your answer:
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En el enfisema, el FEV1 (%) bajó porque los pulmones pierden su fuerza para sacar el aire
y el aire queda atrapado dentro.
La predicción fue correcta, ya que se esperaba que este valor disminuyera por la
dificultad para exhalar.
2 Which of these two parameters changed more for the patient with emphysema, the FVC
or the FEV1?
Your answer:
El FEV₁ cambió más, porque en el enfisema el aire no puede salir bien de los pulmones,
haciendo que este valor baje mucho más que la FVC.
3 What lung values changed (from those of the normal patient) in the spirogram when the
patient experiencing an acute asthma attack was selected? Why did these values change
as they did? How well did the results compare with your prediction?
Your answer:
En el ataque de asma, el FEV₁ (%) disminuyó porque las vías respiratorias se estrechan
por el moco y los espasmos, lo que dificulta la salida del aire. La predicción fue correcta,
ya que se esperaba una disminución del FEV₁ debido al aumento de la resistencia en las
vías respiratorias.
4 How is having an acute asthma attack similar to having emphysema? How is it different?
Your answer:
El asma y el enfisema son parecidos porque en ambos el aire tiene dificultad para salir de
los pulmones, haciendo que el FEV1 baje. La diferencia es que el asma se puede revertir
con medicamentos, mientras que el enfisema es una enfermedad crónica y permanente
causada por el daño en los alveolos.
5 Describe the effect that the inhaler medication had on the asthmatic patient. Did all
spirogram values return to "normal"? Why do you think some values did not return all the
way to normal? How well did the results compare with your prediction?
Your answer:
El inhalador hizo que el paciente respirara mucho mejor, porque abrió los bronquios y
bajó la resistencia al paso del aire.
Algunos valores no regresaron por completo a lo normal, ya que todavía queda
inflamación o algo de moco en las vías respiratorias.
La predicción fue correcta, porque se esperaba una mejoría parcial pero no total de los
valores del espirograma.
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6 How much of an increase in FEV1 do you think is required for it to be considered
significantly improved by the medication?
Your answer:
Un aumento de al menos 12% en el FEV₁ se considera una mejoría significativa gracias al
medicamento, porque muestra que el aire puede salir más fácilmente de los pulmones.
7 With moderate aerobic exercise, which changed more from normal breathing, the ERV or
the IRV? How well did the results compare with your prediction?
Your answer:
Durante el ejercicio moderado, el ERV aumentó más porque el cuerpo necesita expulsar
más aire para cubrir la demanda de oxígeno. La predicción fue correcta, ya que se
esperaba que el ERV cambiara más debido al mayor esfuerzo respiratorio durante el
ejercicio.
8 Compare the breathing rates during normal breathing, moderate exercise, and heavy
exercise.
Your answer:
Durante la respiración normal, la frecuencia es baja y el cuerpo usa poco oxígeno.
En el ejercicio moderado, la respiración aumenta para llevar más oxígeno a los músculos.
En el ejercicio intenso, la frecuencia sube mucho más, porque el cuerpo necesita eliminar
más CO₂ y mantener el oxígeno suficiente.
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