Review of the Respiratory System (Nursing)

00:00 Hi! Welcome to our video on respiratory medications.

00:04 We're gonna talk about the types of medications that make it easier for your patients to breath.

00:10 Now let's do a quick review of kinda how the respiratory system works.

00:14 Obviously, oxygen enters through your nose and your mouth.

00:18 So before we even get started, stop and take a deep breath.

00:27 Alright.

00:28 You know that's never a bad idea when you're studying.

00:31 It's always a good idea to come and take that deep breath and to relax.

00:35 If you are able to take a good, deep breath, don't take that for granted.

00:39 Because we're gonna learn today how we use medications to take care of patients who can't do that for various reasons.

00:47 But let's talk, start from your nose and your mouth, it travels down the bronchi, down to the bronchioles and exchanges CO2, which is a waste product in the body, exchanges CO2 for O2 at the alveolar capillaries.

01:01 Now those capillaries are pretty fragile because that's where really cool exchange happens.

01:09 When that exchange is compromised, that's when we need the respiratory medications.

01:14 So we've got the smooth muscle, it's found in the walls of the bronchi and the bronchioles.

01:20 So that smooth muscle is part of what gets us into trouble.

01:23 If that smooth muscle constricts, it's like someone put their hands around your throat.

01:29 So I want you to keep in mind that part of what we're getting use with medications that open up airways is you want to relax that smooth muscle.

01:38 Because bronchial spasms are when the smooth muscle just clamps down on those airways and the patients are unable to get a breath in.

01:49 So that's just a quick review of the respiratory system.

01:53 None of that should be new content for you.

01:55 But first of all, I don't want you to ever take for granted the ability to take a big, slow, deep breath.

02:02 Because that's what our patients with respiratory problems are desperate to be able to do.

02:07 Remember the key players that you see in the slide.

02:10 You've got the airways, you've got the alveolar capillaries where the CO2/O2 exchange happens.

02:16 Because remember, even if a patient is not breathing, if I was to put my hand over someone's mouth, prevent them from breathing, CO2 would still be building up in the body.

02:27 So that exchange, CO2 and O2 is obviously, critically important.