respiratory pump dysfunction


respiratory pump dysfunction

Any disease or condition that impairs ventilation due to failure of the nerves, muscles, or skeleton of the abdomen and thorax to function properly. It may be caused by a variety of purely neurological diseases, e.g., the polyneuropathy that paralyzes respiration in Guillain-Barré syndrome. Alternatively it may be caused by skeletal conditions, e.g., multiple rib fractures or ankylosing spondylitis; by excessive adipose tissue, as in obesity/hypoventilation; or by diaphragmatic paralysis from surgical injury to the phrenic nerves. See also: dysfunction