This article reviews basic respiratory physiology and highlights the clinician's role in discouraging the public from relying on speech as a sign of adequate respiration, especially to propagate injustice or violence.
- Review the visual abstract accompanying this article.
- Review the physiology behind the fallacy that speech indicates effective breathing.
- Read a recent ACP position paper on racism and health in the United States.
- What are your thoughts on physicians and structural racism? Can you identify structural racism within the health care system? Do you think that physicians have a role in addressing structural racism? If so, what are some positive actions that physicians might take?
Annals of Internal Medicine is the premier internal medicine academic journal published by the American College of Physicians (ACP). It is one of the most widely cited and influential specialty medical journals in the world.
Back to the December 2020 issue of ACP IMpact