Introduction

Disclaimer

This presentation is intended to be a basic introduction to the principles of spirometry. It will also touch briefly on the interpretation of the values obtained.

The presentation is not intended to be definitive or a substitute for a formal course in pulmonary function testing. For more detail, the learner is directed to several good textbooks and textbook chapters. There are also a number of short videos on youtube.com that serve to demonstrate spirometry.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this presentation, the learner will be able to:

• Define the basic lung volumes and capacities
• Describe how the test is performed and the values obtained
• Describe basic qualities assurance measures to ensure the accuracy of the results
• State the significance of the data, especially for COPD and asthma
• Given a set of spirometry data, provide a basic interpretation

Using This Presentation

Click on each lesson in the table of contents