Lung function can be measured by various pulmonary functions tests like spirometry. Spirometry is a method used for measure breath, which specifically means that the test is used for the measurement of amount of volume of flow that has been inhaled and exhaled. These tests are used in order to investigate various respiratory disorders like asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis and pulmonary fibrosis.
The measurements are recorded on pneumatographs that show various parameters like forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume, forced expiratory volume to forced vital capacity ratio, forced expiratory flow, forced inspiratory flow, peak expiratory flow tidal volume, total lung capacity, diffusion capacity, maximum voluntary ventilation, static lung compliance and various other parameters.
The forced expiratory volume in one second is also referred to as FEV1. There are average values of forced expiratory volume in 1 second for healthy people that can be a used a benchmark is order to ascertain your lung functions. This parameter is used to measure the amount of air that can be forcibly exhaled after full inspiration. The normal values of forced expiratory volume range between 80% and 120% of the average value are this is considered to be normal. In case of predicted forced expiratory volume that is referred to as FEVI1% predicted, the FEVI1% of the individual is divided by the FEVI1% average value of a population of the same sex, age and body composition.