Diagnostic & Practice

Disorders of the respiratory system can be diagnosed in several ways. First, a physician usually listens to the lungs with a stethoscope, a process called _______.

• Auscultation

• percussion

Next, the respiratory rate is determined by counting the number of respirations per minute. One inhalation and one exhalation equal a single respiration. Adults respiration normal range from 15 to 20 per minute. The physician may use ______, tapping over the lung area, to see if the lungs are clear ( a hollow sound) or filled with fluid (a dull sound).

• asuscultation

• percussion

______ measure the mechanics of breathing.

• pulmonary functions test

• peak flow meter

• spirometer

Breathing may be tested by a ______.

• pulmonary functions test

• peak flow meter

• spirometer

Asthmatics often use this type of measuring device to check breathing capacity; they can then take medicine if an attack seems imminent. A ______ is a machine that tests pulmonary function by measuring the lungs' volume and capacity (spirometry).

• pulmonary function test

• peak flow meter

• spirometer

Visuals images of the chest and parts of the respiratory system play an important role in diagnosing respiratory ailements. Chest x-rays, MRIs, and lung scans can detect abnormalities such as masses and restricted blood flow within the lungs. A ______ provides a radiological picture of the trachea and bronchi.

• bronchography

• cardiography

Parts of the respiratory system can also be observed by endoscopy, - insertion of an ______ (a viewing tube) into a body cavity.

• endoscope

• bronchoscope

A ______ is used for bronchoscopy.

• endoscope

• bronchoscope

In _____, a flexible endoscope is used to examine nasal passages and the pharynx.

• nasopharygonospy

• largngoscopy

______ is the procedure for examining the mouth and larynx, and _______, for examining the mediastinum area and all the organs within it. Such diagnostic testing can reveal structural abnormalities, tumors, and irritations.

• nasopharyngoscopy

• laryngoscopy

• mediastinoscopy