RT Book, Section
A1 Pasterkamp, Hans
A2 Rudolph, Colin D.
A2 Rudolph, Abraham M.
A2 Lister, George E.
A2 First, Lewis R.
A2 Gershon, Anne A.
SR Print(0)
ID 7050182
T1 Chapter 505. Clinical Presentation of Respiratory Illness
T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e
YR 2011
FD 2011
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-149723-7
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=7050182
RD 2024/04/25
AB Respiratory  illness  in  children  usually  presents  with  clinical  symptoms  and  signs  that  offer  important  information  for  further  diagnostic  tests.  The  primary  function  of  the  respiratory  system  is  to  provide  a  supply  of  oxygen  and  removal  of  carbon  dioxide,  that  is,  adequate  and  adaptive  gas  exchange.  Illness  can  disturb  this  function  by  affecting  respiratory  control,  the  respiratory  pump,  that  is,  chest  cage  and  respiratory  muscles,  airways,  and  the  pulmonary  tissues.  The  many  nonrespiratory  functions  of  the  lung  include  production  and  regulation  of  surfactant,  defense  against  infections,  participation  in  water  and  fluid  balance,  sieving  of  blood  cells  and  emboli,  and  elimination  of  volatile  substances.  The  clinical  presentation  of  illness  interfering  with  these  functions  is  often  related  to  the  secondary  effects  on  respiratory  mechanics  and  gas  exchange.