The simulator demonstrates the complete cough reflex arc as a sequence: irritant detection by airway receptors, afferent transmission via the vagus nerve to the medullary cough center, and the three-phase motor response of deep inspiration, glottic closure with pressure buildup, and explosive expiratory release.
Introduce a mechanical or chemical irritant to the simulated airway lining and watch the receptors activate, then follow the signal as it travels along the vagus nerve to the brainstem. Step through each of the three motor phases individually, observing how inhaled volume, intrathoracic pressure, and airway diameter change, and see how the timing of glottic opening affects the resulting expiratory flow.
Sliders and toggles let you adjust irritant type and intensity, receptor sensitivity, inspired lung volume, glottic closure duration, and expiratory muscle force, while a step-through control advances the simulation through sensory detection, afferent transmission, and each of the three cough motor phases.
The airflow generated during the explosive phase of a cough can reach velocities in the narrowed central airways on the order of several hundred miles per hour at their peak, making it one of the fastest airflows the human body ever produces internally.
The simulator demonstrates the complete cough reflex arc as a sequence: irritant detection by airway receptors, afferent transmission via the vagus nerve to the medullary cough center, and the three-phase motor response of deep inspiration, glottic closure with pressure buildup, and explosive expiratory release.
The simulator demonstrates the complete cough reflex arc as a sequence: irritant detection by airway receptors, afferent transmission via the vagus nerve to the medullary cough center, and the three-phase motor response of deep inspiration, glottic closure with pressure buildup, and explosive expiratory release.
Introduce a mechanical or chemical irritant to the simulated airway lining and watch the receptors activate, then follow the signal as it travels along the vagus nerve to the brainstem. Step through each of the three motor phases individually, observing how inhaled volume, intrathoracic pressure, and airway diameter change, and see how the timing of glottic opening affects the resulting expiratory flow.
The airflow generated during the explosive phase of a cough can reach velocities in the narrowed central airways on the order of several hundred miles per hour at their peak, making it one of the fastest airflows the human body ever produces internally.