Question

An injury in the chest wall can cause the chest cavity to fill with air, resulting in a collapsed lung. Predict how the residual volume in an individual who has suffered such an injury would compare with the residual volume in a healthy individual.

Answer 1

Residual volume is the amount of air left in the lungs at the end of a maximal expiration and is typically increased due to the inability to forcibly expire and remove air from the lungs. However, residual volume can be unchanged despite expiratory muscle weakness.