Passage
When present in the bloodstream above a threshold partial pressure, a general anesthetic blocks the sensation of pain, induces a state of unconsciousness, and causes muscle paralysis. Many anesthetic agents are administered in their gaseous phase and are absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs. The rate of diffusion V_gas of an anesthetic across the alveolar membrane with a surface area A and a thickness T is described by the Fick law of diffusion:

Vgas=DAΔPTEquation 1where D is the diffusion coefficient specific for the gas and ΔP is the partial pressure difference across the membrane.An inhaled anesthetic is described by its blood-gas partition coefficient, the ratio of the anesthetic's concentration in the blood to its concentration in the lungs when the partial pressures are equal. The concentration C of an anesthetic gas dissolved in blood is described by the Henry law of solubility:

C=kHPgasEquation 2where k_H is the solubility constant specific for the gas and P_gas is the partial pressure of the gas.Due to the paralytic effects of general anesthetics, mechanical ventilators are usually necessary to assist a patient's breathing during surgery. Positive-pressure ventilators are noninvasive and use external pumps to induce inspiration by forcing air into the lungs through a ventilation mask. Despite the paralytic effects of general anesthesia, patients are often capable of expiration without the active aid of a mechanical ventilator.
-Which of the following graphs best depicts the anesthetic partial pressure along the length of the pulmonary capillaries when it is first administered?
A)

A Spring Is Extended 15 Cm from Its Equilibrium Point

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