We are starting pulmonary physiology today. I'm not a fan of the music of the 1980s, but as the good doctor walked into class, I could hear Bonnie Tyler's, "I Need A Hero." You mus understand: pulmonary physiology is VERY difficult. It is embedded in physics (things like gas laws)--YUCK!!. If I wanted to do physics, I'd be a physicist. Thank Goodness this isn't the first time I've seen pulmonary physiology, as it can be very confusing to keep everything straight. However, once you get past the yuckiness, it is very clinically relevant (and obviously important--if you don't breathe you can't live). How do you set a respirator? How do you help an asthmatic? Breathing not only exchanges oxygen, but also carbon dioxide and helps regulate the pH balance in the body. The respiratory system is very important.
Our professor told us some interesting facts, for example, if humans didn't have lungs and we had to absorb all of our oxygen via our skin, than we could only be 1mm thick (1 mm = 0.039 inch). All of the branching in our lungs (due to the bronchials and aveoli), is 90 square meters or the same size as a tennis court . Isn't that amazing?
Epilogue--April 3, 2008
I saw Dr. MD/PhD in respiratory physiology SMOKING on April 1st. I thought it was an April Fool's Day joke; but, apparently, it wasn't. I guess everyone has their vices. I'm just surprised that a respiratory physiologist (and I think he is a pulmonologist) is a smoker. Then again, if I'm stressed out, I suspect getting an MD/PhD is enough to drive you nutty. Maybe he needed a good smoke during school and is now addicted--not my place to judge, but geeze its funny.
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