Discussion Board: The Breath

Overview

The respiratory system is responsible for ventilation (breathing). Breathing is movement of air inside the lungs (inhalation) and out of the lungs (exhalation). The first breath the newborn takes is the toughest and it requires more energy than a subsequent breath.

Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure. Smoking causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in patients.

Instructions

Using the information provided in the overview and from the reading, create an initial post using the following prompt. Your initial post needs to address each discussion point.

Discussion Prompt

• Describe the mechanism of breathing, and make sure to include all the events that cause inspiration and why it is important for the chest wall to expand.
• Discuss and differentiate normal alveoli from the patient who has COPD.

Due

• Initial post due Wednesday, by 11:59 p.m.
• Responses to posts due Saturday, by 11:59 p.m.

This schedule ensures that you have adequate time to prepare initial responses and to read through the posts and supply meaningful reactions that extend the conversation.