Chest Wall Compliance

Chest wall compliance is defined as the dimension of change that occurs during respiration. During healthy adult respiration the lungs and chest wall are like two springs that are pulling against each other, where the chest wall is pulling the thoracic cavity more open, while the lungs trying to collapse it. These two structures are dynamically opposing each other and contribute to the elasticity of the respiratory cavity, facilitating respiration without extra effort provided by by the muscular system (Ferrand, 2014; Samsam, 2015; Shier Butler, Lewis, 2015; Talaro & Chess, 2012).

If the lung and chest wall relationship is deleteriously affected, then the lungs will collapse to a degree and the thoracic cavity will expand to a volume larger than the healthy resting volume. Under healthy conditions, the relationship of the chest wall and lung forces are relatively equal, but in dysfunctional conditions, impeded chest wall compliance or non-compliance can have widespread effects on ventilation (Ferrand, 2014; Samsam, 2015; Shier Butler, Lewis, 2015; Talaro & Chess, 2012).