What is a spirometer? A spirometer is a device used by your
physician that assesses lung function. Spirometry, the
evaluation of lung function with a spirometer, is one of the
simplest, most common pulmonary function tests and may be
necessary for any/all of the following reasons: - to determine
how well the lungs receive, hold, and utilize air - to monitor a
lung disease - to monitor the effectiveness of treatment - to
determine the severity of a lung disease - to determine whether
the lung disease is restrictive (decreased airflow) or
obstructive (disruption of airflow) After taking a deep breath,
a person forcefully breathes out into the spirometer as
completely and forcefully as possible. The spirometer measures
both the amount of air expelled and how quickly the air was
expelled from the lungs. The measurements are recorded by the
spirometer. The normal, healthy values measured by the
spirometer for the amount of air exhaled vary from person to
person. Your results are compared to the average expected in