Vital capacity

Vital capacity (VC/VK) refers to the maximum mobilizable lung volume that the patient can slowly exhale to maximum after slow maximum inhalation. Adults have an average vital capacity of 3-5 litres. The assessment of the vital capacity is particularly important for the diagnosis of diseases with restrictive ventilation disorders (e.g. lung fibrosis or interstitial lung diseases).

Forced vital capacity (FVC) refers to the maximum mobilizable lung volume that the patient can exhale during rapid expiration. The FCV is always smaller than the slowly executed inspiratory VC.

The target values of the vital capacity depend on sex, height and age. The target values are related to certain body conditions (BTPS conditions: body-temperature-pressure-saturated).