However, differences in the exact way of measuring this space result in clinically significant different results and, therefore, debate remains about the true value of this measured parameter.Ĭopyright © 2023, StatPearls Publishing LLC. Indeed, it may serve as a prognostic factor in patients with acute repository distress syndrome (ARDS) who require ventilation. This phenomenon has clinical significance because, both in healthy and impaired lungs, properly calculating and accounting for this non-physiological space is important for the proper respiratory care of ventilated patients. When air is moved from the atmosphere into the respiratory tract of a person, then a portion of it remains in the conducting. Only the air which is reaching the alveoli is available for gas exchange in the alveoli.
This is therefore termed anatomical dead space as it serves no respiratory function. Alveoli dead space causes carbon dioxide in the lungs to diffuse down its partial pressure gradient from the blood into the alveoli. Anatomic dead space is an important phenomenon in respiratory physiology whereby, owing to the fact that upper airways do not function as locations for gas exchange, and because of the tidal nature of ventilation, there is always a fraction of the inspired air that does not perform a physiologic function of exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen.
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