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    Distinguish Between IRV and ERV: Do you know the difference?

    In this blog we are going to tell you about Distinguish Between IRV and ERV, so read this blog carefully to get the complete information.

    All living beings breathe in and out the air. However different animals have different lung capacities depending on their activities. After maximum inhalation or exhalation, there are some residues of air that are left in the lungs. A spirometer is a device that is used to calculate these volumes. The volume in the lung is divided into 4 main units that include tidal volume, ERV, IRV, and residual volume. Today in this article we are going to talk about the difference between IRV and ERV so that you can understand the terms better.

    What is IRV?

    IRV is also known as Inspiratory Reserve Volume. It is the extra amount of air that can be inhaled after a normal inhalation. In other words, we can say that it is the maximum amount of air that can be inspired beyond the TV that is 3L.

    IRV is usually kept in reserve but is utilized while deep breathing. For a normal adult, the value of IRV is around 1900 to 3300 ml. In addition to this, IRV is the volume of air that remains in the lung after maximum exhalation.

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    What is ERV?

    The ERV or Expiratory Reserve Volume is the extra amount of air that can be exhaled after a normal exhalation. In other words, we can say that it is the reserve amount of air that can be exhaled beyond the normal capacity. ERV is the maximum amount of air that can be expired beyond the normal TV expiration which is 1L.

    Main Differences between IRV and ERV

    The following are the two main differences between IRV and ERV as mentioned below:

    • IRV is the maximum amount of air that can be inhaled by a person after a normal inhalation whereas ERV is the maximum amount of air that can be exhaled by a person after a normal exhalation.
    • During IRV, around 2500 to 3500 ml of air can be inhaled after a normal inhalation whereas, during ERV, around 1000 to 1100 ml of air can be exhaled after a normal exhalation.

    About Spirometer

    A spirometer is an instrument that is used to measure the volume of the lungs. When we breathe through the mouthpiece of the spirometer, we can know about any respiratory malfunction in our body. This device measures airflow and that’s how we can know how much air we inhale or exhale and how quickly it is done. In general, an average person breathes around 13 pints of air in a minute.

    What is lung capacity?

    Lung capacity is the measurement of two or more two volumes. It can be divided into four parts: vital capacity, inspiratory capacity, functional residual capacity, and total Lung capacity. Vital capacity is the sum of expiratory reserve volume, tidal volume, and inspiratory reserve volume. Inspiratory capacity is the sum of tidal volume and inspiratory reserve volume. FRC or functional residual capacity is the sum of expiratory reserve volume and the residual volume. And lastly, the total lung capacity or TLC is the sum of the total amount of air that a lung can hold and thus it includes residual volume, expiratory reserve volume, tidal volume, and inspiratory reserve volume.

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    The bottom line

    As we all know that human beings inhale oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Our lungs can hold the volume of air that has to be inhaled or exhaled and this is called lung capacity. IRV and ERV both are types of lung volume but the main difference between them is that IRV is the maximum amount of Air that is inhaled after a normal inhalation while ERV is the maximum amount of air that is exhaled after a normal exhalation. We hope that you found this article helpful and the difference between IRV and ERV.

    Conclusion

    We Hope this blog is sufficient enough to provide the information about Distinguish Between IRV and ERV. Thanks for reading this blog.

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