Advances in Physiology Education, Vol 257, Issue 6 9-10, Copyright © 1989 by American Physiological Society
Chest-lung statics: a realistic analog for student laboratory
A. E. Chinet
Department of Physiology, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
A mechanical analog of the human lung-chest wall system was developed in
Fribourg and Geneva Universities, Switzerland, to help students understand
chest-lung statics. The equipment comprises a lung bellows, with upper
airway connected to a three-way manifold, and a transparent chest whose
lower part is another bellows that can be mobilized manually. Two water
manometers measure intrapulmonary and intrathoracic pressures. The
pressure-volume relationships of the lung-chest wall analog, which are
essentially determined by the diameters of the bellows and the strains
imposed by steel coils, closely parallel those of the human respiratory
system. The chest can be opened to demonstrate pneumothorax. A first,
guided manipulation of the model at the physiology laboratory provides
excellent preparation for--or useful complement to--a human subject
experiment on chest-lung statics. Unguided, further use of the model
provides an opportunity for students to teach each other. Since the model
is used, mean score on chest-lung statics at the practical examination is
as good as that on other, more easy subjects.
