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Nasal and Pulmonary Drug Delivery Systems
Published in Ambikanandan Misra, Aliasgar Shahiwala, In-Vitro and In-Vivo Tools in Drug Delivery Research for Optimum Clinical Outcomes, 2018
Pranav Ponkshe, Ruchi Amit Thakkar, Tarul Mulay, Rohit Joshi, Ankit Javia, Jitendra Amrutiya, Mahavir Chougule
The respiratory system and circulatory system work together simultaneously to deliver oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from cells, which is exhaled through the lungs. Respiration is also known as the transport of oxygen from the outer environment to blood and body tissue while the movement of carbon dioxide is in the opposite direction. Each minute, 1 pint of air is inhaled by healthy lungs for about 12–15 times. The total amount of blood present in the human body is passed through the lungs every single minute (Rang, Dale et al. 2007). The gas exchange and supply of oxygen to all the cells are the predominant functions of the lungs. The respiratory tract is bifurcated into two main parts; the first part is the upper respiratory tract which consists of the nose, nasal cavity, and pharynx; while the other part which also known as lower respiratory tract, which consists of the larynx, trachea, bronchi, and lungs (Figure 4.1). The right lung consists of three lobes while the left lung consists of two lobes. The intramural part of the lung is composed of smaller air passages and bronchi, blood vessels, alveoli, and lymph tissue. The division of bronchi takes place into primary and secondary bronchi and bronchioles and eventually into alveoli (which amounts to over 300 million). There is a conducting zone in the respiratory tract that consists of nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, and terminal bronchioles. The general function of this zone is to filter, warm, and moisten the air and conduct it into the lungs. The lungs have a total surface area of 70 m2. A vast network of 280 billion pulmonary capillaries is formed in alveolus which provides a total surface area is around 50–75 m2 for the blood–gas barrier.
A point-source outbreak of Coccidioidomycosis among a highway construction crew
Published in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2018
Coccidioides immitis (hereafter termed Cocci) is a soil fungus endemic in certain areas of California. The fungus can grow directly in soil but is also associated with rodents burrows.[1,2] A related fungal species Coccidioides posadasii is endemic in areas of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.[3] When soil containing the fungus is disturbed, as during earth-moving activities, respirable Cocci spores can become airborne and be inhaled by persons in the vicinity; these spores are often termed arthrospores or arthroconidia. Inhalation leads to an infection termed Coccidioidomycosis that is usually limited to the respiratory tract, although the fungus can disseminate from the lungs into other tissues. In California, Cocci is most prevalent in the San Joaquin Valley, and the illness is commonly termed Valley Fever. Overall, 60% of infected persons are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection.[4] In the remaining 40%, a lower respiratory tract infection develops with more severe symptoms, such as fever, cough, weakness and difficulty in breathing. Acute localized infection usually resolves without medical therapy but may last for several weeks; if pneumonia is diagnosed, an anti-fungal drug is prescribed.[4,5] In less than 1% of people with Caucasian ancestry, the fungus disseminates outside the lungs and can cause meningitis and infections of bones, joints, skin, and soft tissue; this percentage is higher for persons with African or Filipino ancestry and for people who are immunosuppressed.[5]
Organizational Diseases
Published in Cybernetics and Systems, 2020
Mario Iván Tarride, Brenda Villena, Julia González
As explained by Thibodeau and Patton (2007), the function of the lungs is to take the air that comes from the upper respiratory tract through the ducts of the bronchial tree and pass it through the alveoli to the blood capillaries, where the gas exchange with the blood takes place, i.e., giving it oxygen and removing carbon dioxide from it.