CARDIO PULM: PULMONARY FUNCTION MOST
COMMON ASSESSMENTS EXAMS 2025/2026
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
Assessment of Pulmonary Dysfunction - Arterial blood gases
Imaging (chest radiographs, CT, MRI, radionuclide VQ scan), Pulmonary function tests, Sputum
samples, biopsy, bronchoscopy
Air on radiograph - Dark (radiolucent)
Fat on radiograph - Dark gray
Tissue/muscle on radiograph - Light gray
Bone on radiograph - White (radiopaque)
Standard Chest Radiograph - PA and lateral
Heart closest to film
What should you observe in a standard chest radiograph? - Bones and soft tissues
Hemidiaphragms and costophrenic angles
Mediastinum, trachea, CV system
Lung fields
Flail chest - 2 or more adjacent ribs fractured in at least 2 places per rib
What happens to the ribs during inhalation with a flail chest? - Ribs sink in instead of expand
outwards
What does it mean if you can see ribs 10-12? - Diaphragm is low and flat
Pneumothorax - Creates less dense (darker) space in chest cavity
Which condition(s) create more dense/whiter image than normal? - Hemothorax, pleural
effusion, consolidation
Computer tomography - computer processes x-rays to produce "slice" images
excellent for viewing denser portions of thorax
poorly identifies pneumothoraces and interstitial lung disease
MRI - uses radiowaves, magnets, and computers to generate images
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan - Radionuclide imaging
Pt injected with radioactive substance
, shows function of organs as well as structure
What do pulmonary function tests measure? - Lung volumes and capacities
gas flow rates
gas diffusion
gas distribution
Body Plethysmography - Subject sits in airtight booth, breathing against mouthpiece
Pressure and volume changes inside box are measured as person breathes in/out
Calculates lung volumes (including FRC and RV) and resistance to air flow
In what disease would RV, FRC, TLC increase? - Increased airway resistance
Obstructive diseases (emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma)
In what disease would RV, FRC, TLC decrease? - Reduced lung compliance
Aging, Diffuse interstitial fibrosis
Lung is stiff and recoils to smaller resting volume
Forced Vital Capacity - Inhale maximally, then exhale as forcefully and quickly as possible;
measures exhalation over time
* decreased in both obstructive and restrictive diseases
Forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) - Volume exhaled in 1st second of FVC
May be expressed as % of FVC
-normal=75%
-restrictive>75%
-obstructive<75%
FEV1 >2 L - little to no obstruction
FEV1 1-2 L - mild obstruction
FEV1 <1 L - severe obstruction
FEV1% Rates - 75-85%: normal
>85%: restrictive
<75%: obstructive
Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) % predicted - Normative value on PFT based on height, weight,
gender, age, race
>80% predicted: normal
60-80%: mild decrease
40-60%: moderate decrease
<40% predicted: severe disease
Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) - Max flow rate attainable at any time during FVC
COMMON ASSESSMENTS EXAMS 2025/2026
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
Assessment of Pulmonary Dysfunction - Arterial blood gases
Imaging (chest radiographs, CT, MRI, radionuclide VQ scan), Pulmonary function tests, Sputum
samples, biopsy, bronchoscopy
Air on radiograph - Dark (radiolucent)
Fat on radiograph - Dark gray
Tissue/muscle on radiograph - Light gray
Bone on radiograph - White (radiopaque)
Standard Chest Radiograph - PA and lateral
Heart closest to film
What should you observe in a standard chest radiograph? - Bones and soft tissues
Hemidiaphragms and costophrenic angles
Mediastinum, trachea, CV system
Lung fields
Flail chest - 2 or more adjacent ribs fractured in at least 2 places per rib
What happens to the ribs during inhalation with a flail chest? - Ribs sink in instead of expand
outwards
What does it mean if you can see ribs 10-12? - Diaphragm is low and flat
Pneumothorax - Creates less dense (darker) space in chest cavity
Which condition(s) create more dense/whiter image than normal? - Hemothorax, pleural
effusion, consolidation
Computer tomography - computer processes x-rays to produce "slice" images
excellent for viewing denser portions of thorax
poorly identifies pneumothoraces and interstitial lung disease
MRI - uses radiowaves, magnets, and computers to generate images
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan - Radionuclide imaging
Pt injected with radioactive substance
, shows function of organs as well as structure
What do pulmonary function tests measure? - Lung volumes and capacities
gas flow rates
gas diffusion
gas distribution
Body Plethysmography - Subject sits in airtight booth, breathing against mouthpiece
Pressure and volume changes inside box are measured as person breathes in/out
Calculates lung volumes (including FRC and RV) and resistance to air flow
In what disease would RV, FRC, TLC increase? - Increased airway resistance
Obstructive diseases (emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma)
In what disease would RV, FRC, TLC decrease? - Reduced lung compliance
Aging, Diffuse interstitial fibrosis
Lung is stiff and recoils to smaller resting volume
Forced Vital Capacity - Inhale maximally, then exhale as forcefully and quickly as possible;
measures exhalation over time
* decreased in both obstructive and restrictive diseases
Forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) - Volume exhaled in 1st second of FVC
May be expressed as % of FVC
-normal=75%
-restrictive>75%
-obstructive<75%
FEV1 >2 L - little to no obstruction
FEV1 1-2 L - mild obstruction
FEV1 <1 L - severe obstruction
FEV1% Rates - 75-85%: normal
>85%: restrictive
<75%: obstructive
Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) % predicted - Normative value on PFT based on height, weight,
gender, age, race
>80% predicted: normal
60-80%: mild decrease
40-60%: moderate decrease
<40% predicted: severe disease
Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) - Max flow rate attainable at any time during FVC
