Residual volume (RV)

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Residual volume (RV)

Residual volume is the amount of air that remains in a person's lungs after fully exhaling. Health professionals use tests to measure a person's residual air volume to help evaluate how well the lungs are functioning.

Residual volume is measured by:

A gas dilution test. A person breathes from a container containing a documented amount of a gas (either 100% oxygen or a certain amount of helium in air). The test measures how the concentration of the gases in the container changes.
Body plethysmography. This test measures the total amount of air the lungs can hold (total lung volume). For this test, a person sits inside an airtight booth called a plethysmograph and breathes through a mouthpiece while pressure and air flow measurements are collected.

Credits

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Author	Jeannette Curtis
Author	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Editor	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Editor	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor	Tracy Landauer
Associate Editor	Pat Truman, MATC
Primary Medical Reviewer	Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Last Updated	May 25, 2007

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Last updated:	May 25, 2007
Author:	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC

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