Respiratory fluid mechanics and transport processes.

The field of respiratory flow and transport has experienced significant research activity over the past several years. Important contributions to the knowledge base come from pulmonary and critical care medicine, surgery, physiology, environmental health sciences, biophysics, and engineering. Several disciplines within engineering have strong and historical ties to respiration including mechanical, chemical, civil/environmental, aerospace and, of course, biomedical engineering. This review draws from a wide variety of scientific literature that reflects the diverse constituency and audience that respiratory science has developed. The subject areas covered include nasal flow and transport, airway gas flow, alternative modes of ventilation, nonrespiratory gas transport, aerosol transport, airway stability, mucus transport, pulmonary acoustics, surfactant dynamics and delivery, and pleural liquid flow. Within each area are a number of subtopics whose exploration can provide the opportunity of both depth and breadth for the interested reader.