The present knowledge of respiratory mechanics in anaesthetized humans is astonishingly scanty. This probably reflects the notion that measurement of the mechanics of ventilation during anaesthesia is difficult to perform. In fact, in mechanically ventilated anaesthetized-paralysed humans, a detailed analysis of respiratory mechanics can be performed readily with simple and commonly available e...

Classic respiratory mechanics is a branch of vectorial mechanics, which aims to recognize all forces acting on the respiratory system. Another branch of mechanics, analytical mechanics, has been used for analyzing the motions of complicated systems with constraints through equilibrium among scalar quantities such as kinetic energy and potential energy. However, until now, there have not been an...

Respiration provides oxygen (O2) and removes carbon dioxide (CO2) for the body. An extraordinary anatomic arrangement of functional units (the alveoli) delimited by extra-thin walls (epithelium and endothelium) creates the interface for gas exchange between air and blood. Repetitive expansion and collapse of the chest wall facilitates movement of gas in and out of the lungs. This review focuses...

The aim of this article is to identify and interpret the data provided by modern ventilators that provide the greatest clinical help in evaluating respiratory mechanics during mechanical ventilation. In intensive care, respiratory mechanics can be assessed in dynamic conditions (no flow-interruption) or static conditions (occlusion techniques) to record compliance and resistance and to monitor ...

UNLABELLED In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) the changes in respiratory thoracoabdominal mechanics result from both hyperinflation and functional and structural skeletal muscle alterations. AIM Evaluation of the particularities of respiratory movement in COPD and identification of inter-relations between respiratory thoraco-abdominal mechanics and clinical and functional respira...

Cardio-pulmonary coupling induces cardiogenic oscillations to the respiratory signals, which appear most prominently in the expiration. We hypothesized that the analysis of respiratory system mechanics profits from the breathing phase-selective filtering of expiratory data. Using the gliding-SLICE method, intratidal dynamic respiratory system mechanics were analyzed without and with low-pass fi...

Monitoring during mechanical ventilation allows the measurement of different parameters of respiratory mechanics. Accurate interpretation of these data can be useful for characterizing the situation of the different components of the respiratory system, and for guiding ventilator settings. In this review, we describe the basic concepts of respiratory mechanics, their interpretation, and their p...