UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS' MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT RESPIRATORY PHYSIOLOGY

Approximately 700 undergraduates studying physiology at community colleges, a liberal arts college, and universities were surveyed to determine the prevalence of four misconceptions about respiratory phenomena. A misconception about the changes in breathing frequency and tidal volume (physiological...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAdvances in physiology education Vol. 277; no. 6; p. 127
Main Authors Michael, Joel A, Richardson, Daniel, Rovick, Allen, Modell, Harold, Bruce, David, Horwitz, Barbara, Hudson, Margaret, Silverthorn, Dee, Whitescarver, Shirley, Williams, Steven
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Physiological Society 01.12.1999
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
College students
Educational Measurement
Ethnic Groups
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Knowledge
Male
Physiology - education
Polls & surveys
Respiratory Physiological Phenomena
Respiratory system
Students
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States
Universities
United States
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Summary:Approximately 700 undergraduates studying physiology at community colleges, a liberal arts college, and universities were surveyed to determine the prevalence of four misconceptions about respiratory phenomena. A misconception about the changes in breathing frequency and tidal volume (physiological variables whose changes can be directly sensed) that result in increased minute ventilation was found to be present in this population with comparable prevalence (~60%) to that seen in a previous study (9). Three other misconceptions involving phenomena that cannot be experienced directly and therefore were most likely learned in some educational setting were found to be of varying prevalence. Nearly 90% of the students exhibited a misconception about the relationship between arterial oxygen partial pressure and hemoglobin saturation. Sixty-six percent of the students believed that increasing alveolar oxygen partial pressure leads to a decrease in alveolar carbon dioxide partial pressure. Nearly 33% of the population misunderstood the relationship between metabolism and ventilation. The possible origins of these respiratory misconceptions are discussed and suggestions for how to prevent and/or remediate them are proposed.AM. J. PHYSIOL. 277 (ADV. PHYSIOL. EDUC. 22): S127-S135, 1999.
ISSN:1043-4046
0002-9513
1522-1229
DOI:10.1152/advances.1999.277.6.s127