Since the concept of being below is itself somewhat vague, scientists define the nadir in more rigorous terms. Specifically, in astronomy, geophysics and related sciences (e.g., meteorology), the nadir at a given point is the local vertical direction pointing in the direction of the force of gravity at that location.
anatomical dead space. In pulmonary physiology, the area in the trachea, bronchi, and air passages containing air that does not reach the alveoli during inspiration and is not involved in gas exchange. This is termed dead space because the air does not reach the alveoli and is not involved in gas exchange. Normal anatomical dead space is 2.2 ml/kg or 1 ml/lb.
There are two different ways to define dead space-- anatomic and physiologic. Anatomic dead space is the total volume of the conducting airways from the nose or mouth down to the level of the terminal bronchioles, and is about 150 ml on the average in humans. The anatomic dead space fills with inspired air at the end of each inspiration, but this air is exhaled unchanged. Thus, assuming a normal tidal volume of 500 ml, about 30% of this air is wasted in the sense that it does not participate in gas exchange.