Breathing And Gas Exchanges Flashcards

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1
Q

What does the gas exchange system do?

A

Supplies oxygen for respiration and removes carbon dioxide

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2
Q

What is the process by which energy is released from food in your cells?

A

Cellular respiration

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3
Q

What is the function of mucus and cilia?

A

Mucus is a sticky liquid that traps particles of dirt or bacteria that are breathed in. The cilia sweep mucus and trapped particles towards the mouth protecting the lungs where they might cause an infection.

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4
Q

Function of alveoli

A

Tiny air sacs adapted for gaseous exchange

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5
Q

Function of the bronchus and bronchioles

A

Carries air to lungs

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6
Q

Description and function of diaphragm

A

Sheet of muscle with a fibrous middle part which is domed.

Aids breathing movements and ventilation

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7
Q

Function of diaphragm

A

Aids breathing movements and ventilation

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8
Q

What does ventilating the lungs do?

A

Ventilation means moving air in and out of the lungs, it brings in rich oxygenated blood and removes blood containing carbon dioxide.

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9
Q

Function of intercostal muscles?

A

Controls rib movement

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10
Q

What are the adaptations of alveoli?

A

Large surface area
Rich blood supply (steep diffusion gradient)
Short diffusion distances between the air and the blood

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11
Q

What does the gas exchange system do?

A

Supplies oxygen and removes carbon dioxide

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12
Q

What is the waste product of respiration?

A

Carbon dioxide

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13
Q

How thick are the walls of capillaries and alveoli?

A

One cell

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14
Q

What is the difference between respiration and breathing?

A

Respiration is the oxidation reaction that releases energy from foods, such as glucose where as breathing is the process of ventilation.

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15
Q

What is the diaphragm?

A

A muscular sheet of tissue under the lungs.

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16
Q

What is the bronchial tree?

A

The air passages of the lungs are a highly branching network so it is sometimes called a bronchial tree.

17
Q

What does each bronchus split into?

A

Smaller and smaller tubes called the bronchioles, each ending at the alveoli.

18
Q

What is the trachea?

A

The windpipe throughout which air enters our lungs when we breath in.
The trachea splits into two tubes called the bronchi, one leading to each lung.
Lined with cells making mucus, and cells with cilia which move the mucus away from the lungs

19
Q

What are the walls of the trachea made up of?

A

Cartilage that supports the airways and keep them open when we breathe in.

20
Q

What are pleural membranes?

A

Thin, moist membranes forming an airtight seal around lungs and separating the inside thorax from the lungs.

21
Q

Experiment to show effect of exercise on heart rate:

A

Get three people to sit still for 5 minutes
Count the number of breaths they take in one minute and put it in a table.
Then do 4 minutes of exercise (e.g. running) and as soon as you stop, count the number of breaths you take in a minute
Control variables: same gender and age of people, do exercise for the same amount of time at the same temperature

22
Q

Why does the air movement in the lungs remains a steep concentration gradient?

A

For the diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the blood and the lungs.

23
Q

What does gas exchange depend on?

A

Efficient diffusion of gases.

24
Q

What do the walls of bronchi and the trachea contain and why?

A

Cartilage to keep them open when we breathe in (otherwise they would squash flat)

25
Q

What does cigarette smoke contain?

A

Nicotine, carbon monoxide, tar and carcinogens

26
Q

How are alveoli adapted for gas exchange?

A

The huge number of microscopic alveoli gives the lungs a very large surface area
There is a moist lining for gases to dissolve in
The alveoli have very thin walls - only one cell thick, so the gas doesn’t have far to diffuse
They have a great blood supply to maintain a high concentration gradient
The walls are permeable so gases can diffuse across easily
Short diffusion distance as the blood around the alveolus is separated by only two layers; the cells making up the wall of the alveolus and the capillary wall itself.

27
Q

Explain how diffusion occurs at the alveoli in detail (long, sorry Issi).

A

Blood is pumped from the heart to the lungs and passes through the capillaries surrounding the alveoli. The blood around the alveolus is seperated by only two layers; the cells making up the wall of the alveolus and the capillary wall itself. The blood has come from respiring tissues of the body where it has given up some of its oxygen and gained carbon dioxide. The alveolus has a higher oxygen concentration so it diffuses across the wall of the alveolus to the blood. Visa versa for carbon dioxide. The blood that leaves the capillaries that flows back to the heart gains oxygen and lost carbon dioxide. The heart pumps this to respiring cells.

28
Q

Explain fully what happens when we breathe in

A

The ribs move out and upwards.
The intercostal muscles contract
The diaphragm contracts and is no longer dome shaped but rather flat.
Therefore, the thorax volume increases
This decreases the pressure, drawing air in

29
Q

Explain how diffusion occurs at the alveoli in detail (long, sorry Issi).

A

Blood is pumped from the heart to the lungs and passes through the capillaries surrounding the alveoli.
The blood has just returned to the lungs from the rest of the body, so it contains lots of carbon dioxide and very little oxygen
Oxygen diffuses out of the alveolus to the blood - so from a high concentration of oxygen to a low concentration of oxygen
Carbon dioxide diffuses out of the blood into the alveolus to be breathed out
The heart then pumps this blood this to respiring cells where oxygen is released from the red blood cells to the body cells, and carbon dioxide is released out of the body cells into the blood. It is then carried back to the lungs

30
Q

Explain why excess mucus can cause lung infections

A

Mucus traps dust and bacteria. The bacteria will reproduce rapidly as mucus has ideal breeding conditions

31
Q

Describe the structure of the thorax

A

The thorax is separated from the lower part of the body by the diaphragm
The lungs are organs which are surrounded by pleural membranes and protected by the ribcage
The air that you breathe in goes through the trachea - this splits into two tubes called bronchi, one going to each lung
The bronchi split into progressively smaller tubes called bronchioles
The bronchioles finally end at small bags called alveoli where the gas exchange takes place

32
Q

What is the thorax

A

The top part of your body

33
Q

How can smoking cause emphysema?

A

The smoke damages the walls inside the alveoli, which beak down and fuse together again, forming enlarged, iregular air spaces.
This greatly reducing the surface area for gas exchange, making it very inefficient - the blood of a person with emphysema carries less oxygen

34
Q

What can the tar in cigarette smoke cause?

A

Tar damages the cilia in your lungs and trachea. These hairs, along with mucus, catch dust and bacteria before they reach the lungs. The cilia also help to keep the trachea clear by sweeping mucus back towards the mouth - when these cilia are damaged, chest infections are more likely
Tar also irritates the bronchi and bronchioles, encouraging mucus to be produced which can’t be cleared very well by damaged cilia - this causes smoker’s cough and chronic bronchitis

35
Q

How can the carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke lead to coronary heart disease?

A

The carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke reduces the amount of oxygen the blood can carry.
To make up for this, heart rate increases - which leads to an increase in blood pressure
High blood pressure damages the artery walls, making the formation of blood clots more likely - this increase the risk of coronary heart disease (heart attacks)

36
Q

What are carcinogens?

A

Chemicals that can lead to cancer

37
Q

Why does exercise increase breathing rate?

A

Your muscles respire more during exercise, therefore they use up more oxygen and produce more CO2
Therefore, they have to be supplied with more oxygen and have more carbon dioxide removed so your breathing rate increases