MRCS Part B Revision · Applied surgical science and critical care
Lung Function — MRCS Part B Applied surgical science and critical care
By Dr Richard Miller, MBChB FRCS · Reviewed
Lung Function is an applied surgical science and critical care station. Three of the seventeen examined stations in the MRCS Part B OSCE fall in this area. These stations ask you to interpret data and manage a sick surgical patient: a chart, a blood gas, an imaging study or a deteriorating patient on the ward, and the physiology underneath the decision.
What you need to know for the Lung Function station
Lung Function
TLC Total lung capacity: the volume in the lungs at maximal inflation, the sum of VC and RV.
TV Tidal volume: that volume of air moved into or out of the lungs during quiet breathing (VT indicates a subdivision of the lung; when tidal volume is precisely measured, as in gas exchange calculation, the symbol VT or VT is used.)
RV Residual volume: the volume of air remaining in the lungs after a maximal exhalation
ERV Expiratory reserve volume: the maximal volume of air that can be exhaled from the end-expiratory position
IRV Inspiratory reserve volume: the maximal volume that can be inhaled from the end-inspiratory level
IC Inspiratory capacity: the sum of IRV and TV
IVC Inspiratory vital capacity: the maximum volume of air inhaled from the point of maximum expiration
VC Vital capacity: the volume of air breathed out after the deepest inhalation.
VT Tidal volume: that volume of air moved into or out of the lungs during quiet breathing (VT indicates a subdivision of the lung; when tidal volume is precisely measured, as in gas exchange calculation, the symbol VT or VT is used.)
FRC Functional residual capacity: the volume in the lungs at the end-expiratory position
RV/TLC% Residual volume expressed as percent of TLC
VA Alveolar gas volume
VL Actual volume of the lung including the volume of the conducting airway.
FVC Forced vital capacity: the determination of the vital capacity from a maximally forced expiratory effort
FEVt Forced expiratory volume (time): a generic term indicating the volume of air exhaled under forced conditions in the first t seconds
FEV1 Volume that has been exhaled at the end of the first second of forced expiration
FEFx Forced expiratory flow related to some portion of the FVC curve; modifiers refer to amount of FVC already exhaled
FEFmax The maximum instantaneous flow achieved during a FVC maneuver
FIF Forced inspiratory flow: (Specific measurement of the forced inspiratory curve is denoted by nomenclature analogous to that for the forced expiratory curve. For example, maximum inspiratory flow is denoted FIFmax. Unless otherwise specified, volume qualifiers indicate the volume inspired from RV at the point of measurement.)
PEF Peak expiratory flow: The highest forced expiratory flow measured with a peak flow meter
MVV Maximal voluntary ventilation: volume of air expired in a specified period during repetitive maximal effort
What are you asked at the Lung Function station?
The station runs to 22 questions over nine minutes. These are the questions as they are put to you; the model answers are in the question bank.
- What are the functions of the respiratory system?
- By what process do the respiratory gases pass through the various anatomic barriers to pass into the blood?
- On which factors does adequate blood oxygenation depend on?
- Which physical law determines diffusion across membranes?
- What are the anatomic layers that respiratory gases have to pass through to reach the haemoglobin molecule in the red cells?
- What is the overall ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) ratio of the normal lung?
- How do ventilation and perfusion vary in different parts of the lung?
- Name the lung volumes and capacities that may be measured directly from a spirometry trace
- Which lung volumes cannot be directly measured using spirometry?
- Define Tidal Volume (TV)
- Define Inspiratory Reserve Volume (IRV)
- Define Residual Volume
And 10 more at this station.
How is the applied surgical science and critical care station marked in MRCS Part B?
Each of these three stations is marked out of 20, split 12 marks for clinical knowledge and its application, 4 for clinical and technical skill and 4 for professionalism. No communication marks are available. The three cover critical care management, interpretation of clinical data, and interpretation of visual information.
FAQ
What does the Lung Function station ask?
It opens with "What are the functions of the respiratory system?" and runs to 22 questions over nine minutes. Each of these three stations is marked out of 20, split 12 marks for clinical knowledge and its application, 4 for clinical and technical skill and 4 for professionalism. No communication marks are available. The three cover critical care management, interpretation of clinical data, and interpretation of visual information.
What counts as applied surgical science in MRCS Part B?
Three of the seventeen examined stations: critical care management, interpretation of clinical data such as blood results and charts, and interpretation of visual information such as imaging and traces.
How is an applied science station marked?
Out of 20, with 12 marks for clinical knowledge and its application, 4 for clinical and technical skill and 4 for professionalism. Unlike the communication stations, none of the marks are for how you say it.
How much physiology do I need?
Enough to explain the decision you are making. The station rewards applying physiology to the patient in front of you rather than reciting it, so practise talking through why a number changes your management.
How many stations are in the MRCS Part B OSCE?
Seventeen examined stations of nine minutes each, with a minute to read the task before each one. Two preparation stations and at least one rest station bring the circuit to about twenty, and the exam takes about three and a half hours.
What is the pass mark for MRCS Part B?
There is no published pass mark. The cut score is set separately for Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills, for each circuit, by borderline regression. Published pass rates across the 2024/25 diets ranged from 51% to 66%.
Can I fail a station and still pass?
Yes. There is no rule about how many stations you may fail: the cut score applies to your total mark in each component, so a weak station costs the marks you lost on it and strong stations elsewhere can make them back. Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills are passed separately and must both be passed at the same sitting, so a strong anatomy performance cannot rescue a weak communication one.
Dr Richard Miller, MBChB FRCS
Station summaries are reviewed against the current intercollegiate MRCS syllabus and the published marking blueprint. Guidance changes between diets: check the royal colleges' own pages before relying on a date, a fee or a threshold.
Practise this station
The question bank carries the model answer to every question above, with the rest of the applied surgical science and critical care stations.
More applied surgical science and critical care stations