Practice test questions - pulmonary

1. A healthy 65-year-old man with a tidal volume (TV) of 0.45 L has a breathing frequency of 16 breaths/min. His arterial PCO2 is 41 mm Hg, and the PCO2 of his expired air is 35 mm Hg. What is his alveolar ventilation?

(A) 0.066 L/min
(B) 0.38 L/min
(C) 5.0 L/min
(D) 6.14 L/min
(E) 8.25 L/min

Hummingbird Physiology

Hummingbird Physiology

(just for fun)

body mass: 3-4 g

heart size: 2.5% of body mass (vs. 0.5% humans)

heart rate: 250 to 1260

respiratory rate: 250 (resting)

pectoral muscles: 25% of body mass (vs. 5% humans)

wing beats: 70 to 200 per second

body temperature: 40 to 18 C (torpor)

GFR: 2.5 (evening) 0 (night)

Suarez, R. K. (1992). "Hummingbird flight: Sustaining the highest mass-specific metabolic rates among vertebrates".Experientia 48 (6): 565–70.

http://jeb.biologists.org/content/207/25/4383.figures-only