| maximal expiratory flow rate | <chest medicine, physiology> Measurement of rate of airflow during the first liter expired after the first 200 ml have been exhausted during a forced vital capacity determination. Common abbreviations are MEFR, FEF 202-1200, and fef 0.2-1.2. Acronym: MEFR (21 Jun 2000) |
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| maximal expiratory flow-volume curve | <chest medicine> Curves depicting maximal expiratory flow in liters/second at each point of lung inflation (expressed in liters or percentage of forced vital capacity) during a forced vital capacity determination. Common abbreviation is mefv. (12 Dec 1998) |
| peak expiratory flow | The maximum flow at the outset of forced expiration, which is reduced in proportion to the severity of airway obstruction, as in asthma. (05 Mar 2000) |
| peak expiratory flow rate | Measurement of the maximum rate of airflow attained during a forced vital capacity determination. Common abbreviations are pefr and pfr. (12 Dec 1998) |
| positive end-expiratory pressure | A technique used in respiratory therapy in which airway pressure greater than atmospheric pressure is achieved at the end of exhalation by introduction of a mechanical impedance to exhalation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| negative end-expiratory pressure | A subatmospheric pressure at the airway at the end of expiration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| expiratory | <physiology> Pertaining to, or employed in, the expiration or emission of air from the lungs; as, the expiratory muscles. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| expiratory centre | The region of the medulla oblongata that is electrically active during expiration and where electrical stimulation produces sustained expiration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| expiratory dyspnea | Difficulty with the expiratory phase of breathing, often due to obstruction in the larynx or large bronchi, such as by a foreign body. (05 Mar 2000) |
| expiratory reserve volume | The extra volume of air that can be expired with maximum effort beyond the level reached at the end of a normal, quiet expiration. Common abbreviation is erv. (12 Dec 1998) |
| expiratory resistance | Resistance to flow of gas out of the lungs or the total resistance to flow of gas during the expiratory phase of the respiratory cycle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| expiratory stridor | A singing sound due to the semi-approximated vocal folds offering resistance to the escape of air. (05 Mar 2000) |
| zero end-expiratory pressure | Airway pressure which, at the end of expiration, equals atmospheric pressure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| forced expiratory flow | Expiratory flow during measurement of forced vital capacity; subscripts specify the exact parameter measured, e.g., peak instantaneous flow, the instantaneous flow at some specified point on the curve of volume expired versus time, or on the flow-volume curve, the mean flow between two expired volumes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| forced expiratory flow rates | Measurements of rates of airflow during a forced vital capacity determination. (12 Dec 1998) |