Pulmonary Function Testing

Pulmonary function testing is commonly used to assess both static (not moving) and dynamic (moving) lung volumes.  Measurement of static lung volumes includes total lung volume, tidal volume (amount of air moved each breath), residual volume (amount of air left in lungs after a forceful exhale) and others.  Dynamic lung volumes include the amount of air you can blow out in 1-3 seconds and the maximum amount of air you can move in one minute.  These measures can be used to assess how well a person's air conduction system is working and can be used to screen for asthma and exercised induced asthma.