Anatomical and Physiological Simulation for Respiratory Mechanics

Injuries in trauma affect anatomical structures, indirectly affecting physiological systems through mechanical behavior and physical proximity. This paper describes the theory for and preliminary results from our approach to couple a three-dimensional (3-D) anatomical model of the chest with a physiological model of respiratory mechanics. In particular, we investigated behavior in quiet, normal breathing and in an open, sucking chest wound. We envision that our integrated simulation of respiratory anatomy and respiratory mechanics could assist students in visualizing and predicting relationships between structural-anatomical and functional-physiological changes in an interactive, 3-D environment.