Lung volumes and capacities

Lung volumes and lung capacities are measures of the volume of air in the lungs at different phases of the respiratory cycle.

The average total lung capacity of an adult human male is about 6 litres of air.

Tidal breathing is normal, resting breathing; the tidal volume is the volume of air that is inhaled or exhaled in only a single such breath.

The average human respiratory rate is 30–60 breaths per minute at birth, decreasing to 12–20 breaths per minute in adults.

Several factors affect lung volumes; some can be controlled, and some cannot be controlled. Lung volumes vary with different people as follows:

A person who is born and lives at sea level will develop a slightly smaller lung capacity than a person who spends their life at a high altitude. This is because the partial pressure of oxygen is lower at higher altitude which, as a result means that oxygen less readily diffuses into the bloodstream. In response to higher altitude, the body's diffusing capacity increases in order to process more air. Also, due to the lower environmental air pressure at higher altitudes, the air pressure within the breathing system must be lower in order to inhale; in order to meet this requirement, the thoracic diaphragm has a tendency to lower to a greater extent during inhalation, which in turn causes an increase in lung volume.

When someone living at or near sea level travels to locations at high altitudes (e.g. the Andes; Denver, Colorado; Tibet; the Himalayas) that person can develop a condition called altitude sickness because their lungs remove adequate amounts of carbon dioxide but they do not take in enough oxygen. (In normal individuals, carbon dioxide is the primary determinant of respiratory drive.)

Lung function development is reduced in children who grow up near motorways although this seems at least in part reversible. Air pollution exposure affects FEV₁ in asthmatics, but also affects FVC and FEV₁ in healthy adults even at low concentrations.