Denny Gabriel

Physiology
Objective​: The purpose of this lab is to learn about human respiration using spirometry and data

from our classmates/group members and also to learn more about the different types of volumes.

Research Questions:How are the respiratory volumes different between female and males?

Background Info: A spirometer is an instrument used to measure different volumes of air

involved in breathing. The Phipps and Bird Wet Spirometer is based on the simple mechanical

principle that air, exhaled from the lungs, will cause displacement of a closed chamber which is

partially exhaled from the lungs, will cause displacement of a closed chamber which is partially

submerged in water. Basically, the Spirometer consists of two vessels: a larger vessel containing

water and having a breathing hose attached to it; and a smaller vessel inverted and suspended in

the water. A counterweight and indicator are attached to the inverted chamber. Air blown into

the inverted chamber will cause it to rise, thus moving an indicator arrow along the horizontal

scale, which is calibrated in liters, to give lung volume measurements. Today we will be

concerned with the act of breathing (or ventilation) and it’s control. Using Spirometry we can

measure the volume of inspired and expired gas and determine a variety of lung volume. The

total lung capacity is divided into various volumes and capacities according to the ventilatory

process. For example, the total capacity of the lungs to hold air is divided into four volumes

defined as follows:

Tidal Volume (TV)​:​ volume of air inspired or expired during normal quiet breathing. Average

values for a 72 kg individual is 500 ml or .5 L

Inspiratory Reserve Volume (IRV):​ volume of air forcefully inspired above and beyond that

taken at the end of a normal quiet inspiration. Avg. 3000mL or 3.0 L

Expiratory Reserve Volume (ERV):​ The amount of air that can be forcefully exhaled

following a normal quiet expiration. Avg. 1,100mL or 1.1 L

Residual Volume (RV):​ ​The amount of air that remains trapped in the lungs after a maximal

expiratory effort. Avg. 1,200mL or 1.2 L

The sum of all the above values gives us our total lung capacity.

Total Lung Capacity (TLC):​ Maximal amount of air contained the lungs can hold. This is the

sum of the four volumes listed above. TV + IRV + ERV + RV = Avg. 5,800mL or 5.8 L

Vital Capacity (VC):​ ​The volume of air that can be exhaled after a maximal inspiration. IRV +

TV + ERV= Avg. 4,600mL or 4.6 L

Functional Residual Capacity (FRV):​ The amount of air remaining in the lungs after a normal

expiration. RV + ERV= Avg. 2,300mL or 2.3 L

Inspiratory Capacity (IC):​ ​The maximal amount of air that can be inspired after a normal

expiration. IRV + TV= Avg. 3,500mL or 3.5 L.

Question: Does gender affect the amount of lung capacity one possesses?

Hypothesis:​ The males will have a larger respiratory capacity than females

Materials:

Wet Spirometer and Mouthpieces

Procedures:

1. Using your own paper, write a title, purpose and hypothesis for this activity. Include a data

table like the one shown on the follow page. Use a wet spirometer to measure and calculate the

respiratory volumes and capacities listed below for each experiment.

2. Record results in data table.

3. Repeat twice and calculate the average.

Experiment 1:​ Measuring TIDAL VOLUME

Measure the amount of air exhaled or inhaled during normal, quiet breathing (TV) The student

should sit by the spirometer, breathing quietly and normally for about a minute.

After inhaling a normal breath, places the mouthpiece between the lips (get a good "seal") and

exhale in a normal, unforced way, into the spirometer mouthpiece. The volume should be read

and recorded from the horizontal scale.

Experiment 2:​ Measuring EXPIRATORY RESERVE VOLUME

Measure the amount of air that can be forcibly breathed out after normal expiration (ERV). The

student stands, breathing normally for a minute or so, then, after a normal exhalation puts the

mouthpiece between the lips, and forcibly exhales all the additional air possible.

Experiment 3​: Measuring INSPIRATORY RESERVE VOLUME

Measure the amount of air that can be inhaled following normal TV inhalation (IRV) Standing,

the student breathes normally for a minute; then breathes as deeply as possible. With the

mouthpiece inserted, the student then exhales normally, without forcing the air out. The IRV

reading is obtained by subtracting the student's TV from the reading recorded on the spirometer.

Experiment 4​: Measuring VITAL CAPACITY

Measure the maximum amount of air which can be forcibly exhaled immediately following a
maximal inhalation (VC) (VC = TV + IRV + ERV) . Standing, the student slowly and deeply

breathes in and out for awhile, then breathes in as deeply as possible, places the spirometer

mouthpiece in position, and breathes out as forcibly as possible.

Results:

Discussion/Analysis:

Analyzing the data above we can notice a few things. In average, the males exceeded on all the

the experiments. However there were some experiments where the female did better than the

guys. This could be due to us not handling the experiment correctly. If you model the results in a

graph, you can observe that males have a larger lung capacity than females. It’s worth noting this

might not always be the case as everyone is different and you might find a male who has a lesser

lung capacity than a female. Health also plays in role in the results. People who have a health
issue that's related to the respiratory system might result in odd/lesser results then what we

expect. For example, asthma affects the breathing of a person , and anemia makes a person carry

less oxygen through their bloodstream. This will result in less lung capacity. Something that

might affect the respiratory capacity in a ​positive ​way is athleticism. Whether you’re a diver,

who must practice breathing under water or a soccer player who must run long distances. That

makes your respiratory capacity larger as you train how to effectively use your respiratory

system. Diet also affects respiratory capacity.

Conclusion​: in conclusion my hypothesis was correct. The males performed better on MOST test

except for one. This could be due to the use of the same person repeatedly which causes the

person to be tired. Next time I do the excitement we will switch out people to make sure our data

is accurate. I chose my hypothesis due to males being physically bigger than females to my

observations.