Cardiopulmonary Anatomy & Physiology: Essentials of Respiratory Care, 7th Edition

Respiratory care begins with understanding how the heart, lungs, blood, and breathing-control systems work together. Terry Des Jardins’s Cardiopulmonary Anatomy & Physiology: Essentials of Respiratory Care builds that foundation in a focused textbook for students of respiratory care and cardiopulmonary physiology.

The seventh edition moves from essential structure and function to the processes that explain ventilation, gas exchange, circulation, and their clinical significance. Its chapters connect related systems rather than treating the lungs and heart as separate subjects. 📚

From respiratory anatomy to the mechanics of breathing

Early chapters explore the respiratory system’s anatomy, ventilation, pulmonary function measurements, and diffusion of pulmonary gases. Together, these topics provide a framework for understanding how air moves, how lung function is assessed, and how oxygen and carbon dioxide cross the alveolar-capillary membrane.

Follow the path from circulation to gas transport

The book turns to circulatory anatomy and physiology, oxygen and carbon dioxide transport, acid–base balance, and ventilation–perfusion relationships. This connected treatment helps readers see how pulmonary and cardiovascular processes contribute to the body’s overall gas exchange.

Explore control, development, and changing physiology

Further topics include control of ventilation, fetal development and the cardiopulmonary system, aging, cardiac electrophysiology, ECG interpretation, hemodynamic measurements, sleep physiology, exercise, and environmental conditions. The scope extends beyond basic anatomy to the factors that shape cardiopulmonary function across different circumstances.

Study concepts with clinical connections

Chapter summaries, review questions, and clinical application material support review and help readers relate foundational concepts to respiratory-care situations. Cengage notes that this edition includes 141 Clinical Connections, bringing practical context to the subject matter.

A substantial textbook for respiratory-care students, this edition offers a structured route through the anatomy and physiology behind cardiopulmonary practice—one system, process, and connection at a time.