Question

When your clinical ends, Mr. B is resting peacefully. His respiratory rate and heart rate are back to normal, his chest tube is not bubbling anymore, and his breath sounds are even on both sides. Mrs. H is using her spirometer, and the respiratory tech says her vital capacity is a lot better than it was the first time he checked on her. The CNS tells your prof you made a good save in noticing Mr. B's tipped chest tube bottle. A great clinical all around! So you treat yourself to an after-class drink with a fellow student who spent her day in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).

"You won't believe what happened to me today! The transport from ER collapsed somebody's lung!"

"It must be lung day. We have a preemie in the NICU with collapsed lungs as well."

"Wow, what happened? Did it have a chest injury? Do they put chest tubes in babies?"

"No, she just never inflated them when she was born. The doctors keep talking about surfactant, but the mom didn't understand what that meant. She was so scared; I felt sorry for her. But I don't think I could explain it either!"

You are on a roll today, so help your friend come up with a clear explanation of what surfactant does.

Choose the best explanation.

A. Surfactant is the watery fluid that keeps respiratory mucus from becoming so thick that it blocks the airway. Without it, a person would not be able to move air through the airway into the lungs, and they would collapse.

B. Surfactant is a slippery substance that keeps the walls of collapsed alveoli from sticking together. That makes it easier to expand them on the next breath.

C. The alveoli are lined with water molecules, which are attracted to one another and tend to move closer together, making the alveoli collapse. Surfactant molecules get in between the water molecules, keeping them apart.

D. Surfactant is the fluid between the visceral and parietal layers of the pleura, holding them together. If it were not present, when someone tried to breathe, the chest wall would move, but the lungs would not.

Answer 1

race Area en Ans) other for the alveoli are lined with water molecules coich are attracted ne another and tend to move closer together, making the alveoli collapse. Surfactant factant molecules molecules get in between the water molemles, get in keeping them betwe apart. explanation - The alveoli will collapse due to surface tension. Surface ension to within the alveoli due to that alveoli contain a very this film of fuud lining their inner side. Due to intermolecular attraction between the water molecules, the surface area decreases causing Collapse of alveolí. This collapse of alveoll Porvented by surfactant : Surface to surfactant reduces the surface tension by forming a layer between the fuid lining the alveoli and alveolar air. Thus, it Prevents development of surface tension between fluíd an the air. other options are incorrect → As surfactant has no sole on respiratory mucus. It do not keep respiratory mucus to become so thick → As surfactant do not teep the walls of collapsed alveoli foom sticking together because the surfactant do not present in between the alveoti, it is present insides the alveoli. → As surfacant do not present Visceral and Parietal pleut layers of pleura. It is present inside the alveoli. The fluid which is present between the visceral and Parietal layers of pleura is pleural fiúd (not surfactant) MU O