A spirometer is a device that measures a patient’s lung capacity. Unfortunately, most spirometers use race correction in their calculations, which is based on the assumption that there are biological differences between racial groups. In this scrollable interactive, we briefly trace the origins of race correction in spirometry. We also explain why it can disadvantage patients from racially marginalized communities To learn more about the invention of biological race in humans and the scientific evidence that disproves it, please read Why Humans Do Not Have Biological Races.
Braun, L. (2005). Spirometry, measurement, and race in the nineteenth century. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. 60(2), 135–169. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24632252 Braun, L. (2015). Race, ethnicity and lung function: A brief history. Canadian Journal of Respiratory Therapy. 51(4), 99–101. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4631137/ Cartwright, S. A. (1860). Slavery in the light of ethnology. In E. N. Elliott (Ed.), Cotton is king, and pro-slavery arguments. Pritchard, Abbott & Loomis. Lujan, H. L., DiCarlo, S. E. (2018). Science reflects history as society influences science: Brief history of “race,” “race correction,” and the spirometer. Advances in Physiological Education, 42(2), 163–165. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/advan.00196.2017