Pressure, Flow, Resistance & Compliance for Anesthesia Technicians

Pressure, flow, resistance, and compliance help anesthesia technicians and technologists understand how gases move through breathing systems, airways, pipelines, and anesthesia equipment. These concepts provide an important foundation for interpreting ventilator pressures, airway resistance, gas flow, PEEP, breathing circuits, and medical gas delivery.

This lesson covers pressure gradients, gas flow, resistance, airway radius, laminar and turbulent flow, compliance, and the relationships among pressure, flow, and volume. Anesthesia-related examples connect these principles with endotracheal tubes, bronchospasm, ventilator pressures, PEEP, the APL valve, breathing circuits, and medical gas systems.