| detrusor compliance | Change in volume of bladder for a given change in pressure. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| dynamic compliance of lung | The value obtained when lung compliance is estimated during breathing by dividing the tidal volume by the difference in instantaneous transpulmonary pressures at the ends of the respiratory excursions, when flow in the airway is momentarily zero; this value deviates markedly from static compliance in patients in whom resistances and compliances are not uniform throughout the lung (i.e., uneven time constants). (05 Mar 2000) |
| thoracic compliance | That portion of total ventilatory compliance ascribable to compliance of the thoracic cage. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lung compliance | The pulmonary volume change per unit pressure change. While clearly not a complete description of the pressure-volume properties of the lung, it is nevertheless useful in practice as a measure of the comparative stiffness of the lung. The stiffer the lung, the less the compliance. Compliance is reduced by diseases which cause an accumulation of fibrous tissue in the lung or by oedema in the alveolar spaces. It is increased in pulmonary emphysema and also with age, probably because of alterations in the elastic tissue in both cases. (12 Dec 1998) |