Most Things Biology

The Mechanics of Breathing: A Story of Pressure

Time To Read

1–2 minutes

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PART 4

PART 5

PART 6

PART 7

18

CHART CLUE

At 45, Stina has a sudden right-sided chest pain that stabs with every inhalation and forces fast, shallow breaths; a chest film shows a small pleural effusion, and it resolves on its own in two days. The line in her chart reads like a shrug: ‘Sharp chest pain that comes and goes? Probably a muscle strain.’ Recurrent, self-limited, one-sided pleuritic pain in a patient already carrying documented peritonitis and pericarditis.

The Story

From Stina’s chart:

Compare Stina’s uninfected appendix to an infected appendix.

Activity:

Activity:

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