| airway | 1. Any part of the respiratory tract through which air passes during breathing. 2. In anaesthesia or resuscitation, a device for correcting obstruction to breathing, especially an oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal airway, endotracheal airway, or tracheotomy tube. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| airway obstruction | Any hindrance to the passage of air into and out of the lungs. (12 Dec 1998) |
| airway pattern | Chest radiographic appearance of thickened bronchial walls, bronchiectasis, bronchiolitis, or acinar consolidation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| airway resistance | The opposition of the tracheobronchial tree to air flow: the mouth-to-alveoli pressure difference divided by the air flow. (12 Dec 1998) |
| anatomical airway | The volume of the conducting airways from the external environment (at the nose and mouth) down to the level at which inspired gas exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide with pulmonary capillary blood; formerly presumed to extend down to the beginning of alveolar epithelium in the respiratory bronchioles, but more recent evidence indicates that effective gas exchange extends some distance up the thicker-walled conducting airways because of rapid longitudinal mixing. Compare: alveolar dead space, physiologic dead space. Synonym: anatomical airway. (05 Mar 2000) |
| respiratory airway | That part of the airway where interchange of gases occurs; it includes respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts, sacs, and alveoli. (05 Mar 2000) |
| conducting airway | The airway from the nasal cavity to a terminal bronchiole. (05 Mar 2000) |
| continuous positive airway pressure | A technique of respiratory therapy, in either spontaneously breathing or mechanically ventilated patients, in which airway pressure is maintained above atmospheric pressure throughout the respiratory cycle by pressurization of the ventilatory circuit. (05 Mar 2000) |
| upper airway | The portion of the respiratory tract that extends from the nares or mouth to and including the larynx. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lower airway | The portion of the respiratory tract that extends from the subglottis to and including the terminal bronchioles. (05 Mar 2000) |
| abdominocardiac reflex | Mechanical stimulation (usually distention) of abdominal viscera causing changes (usually a slowing) in the heart rate or the occurrence of extrasystoles. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Abrams' heart reflex | A contraction of the myocardium when the skin of the precordial region is irritated. (05 Mar 2000) |
| accommodation reflex | Increased convexity of the lens, due to contraction of the ciliary muscle and relaxation of the suspensory ligament, to maintain a distinct retinal image. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Achilles reflex | A contraction of the calf muscles when the tendo calcaneus is sharply struck. Synonym: ankle jerk, ankle reflex, tendo Achillis reflex, triceps surae reflex. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acousticopalpebral reflex | A form of the wink reflex in which there is a contraction, sometimes very slight, of the orbicularis palpebrarum muscle when a sudden noise is made close to the ear; it is absent in labyrinthine disease with total deafness. Synonym: acousticopalpebral reflex, auropalpebral reflex, cochleo-orbicular reflex, startle reflex. (05 Mar 2000) |