Dead space represents the volume of ventilated air that does not participate in gas exchange. The two types of dead space are anatomical dead space and physiologic dead space. Anatomical dead space is represented by the volume of air that fills the conducting zone of respiration made up by the nose,...

Anatomic dead space is an important phenomenon in respiratory physiology whereby, owing to the fact that upper airways do not function as locations for gas exchange, and because of the tidal nature of ventilation, there is always a fraction of the inspired air that does not perform a physiologic fun...

An elevated physiological dead space, calculated from measurements of arterial CO2 and mixed expired CO2, has proven to be a useful clinical marker of prognosis both for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome and for patients with severe heart failure. Although a frequently cited explanat...