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Multiple Choice

Which term best describes the amount of air moved in and out of the lungs with a single normal breath?

Tidal volume is the amount of air moved in and out with a normal breath. It measures the volume exchanged during quiet breathing, and in a healthy adult is about 500 milliliters per breath. This distinguishes it from minute ventilation, which multiplies tidal volume by breaths per minute to get air moved per minute; dead space is the portion of the breath that stays in the conducting airways and doesn’t reach the gas-exchange units; and residual volume is the air remaining in the lungs after maximal exhalation. So the breath-by-breath volume description corresponds to tidal volume.

Tidal volume is the amount of air moved in and out with a normal breath. It measures the volume exchanged during quiet breathing, and in a healthy adult is about 500 milliliters per breath. This distinguishes it from minute ventilation, which multiplies tidal volume by breaths per minute to get air moved per minute; dead space is the portion of the breath that stays in the conducting airways and doesn’t reach the gas-exchange units; and residual volume is the air remaining in the lungs after maximal exhalation. So the breath-by-breath volume description corresponds to tidal volume.