Breathing & Gas exchange Flashcards
What’s the difference between ventilation and respiration?
Ventilation is what we call breathing -moving air into and out of the lungs.
Respiration is the chemical reaction that happens within our cells, which uses oxygen and glucose to release energy
What is the trachea
Trachea is the pip which air flows into to reach the lungs, food should not go down there
When food enters the trachea this is when someone chokes.
what is the oesophagus
The pipe down which food enters connected the mouth and the stomach
what is the route of oxygen in the air
The route of oxygen in the air:
1.Enters the mouth
2. Into the trachea (wind pipe)
3. Into the bronchi / each bronchus - there are two
4. into the bronchioles
5. into the alveoli where it diffuses through the alveolar wall into the capillaries
What are the cartilage rings in the ventilation system called and where are they found
The same way that a hoover pipe has rings, the trachea has C-shaped rings, and the bronchi and bronchioles also have cartilage rings - when air is moving through these pipes at high pressure, these rings make sure that the pipes don’t collapse
what are the membranes called surrounding the lungs and what is between the membrane and the lungs
there is two thin membranes covering the lungs called pleura - pleural membranes - think of these as cling film around the pair of lungs
between these two membranes, there is pleural fluid - this fluid allows the lungs to expand and deflate easily and also makes sure that the lungs don’t stick to the chest wall
What is the area called where the pleural fluid fills
The area that this pleural fluid fills - this area between the two pleural membranes - pleural cavity
what are cilia
hair like structures that line the lining of the trachea and the fallopian tube
The body produces mucus which traps dust, debris, pathogens in it
The cilia lining the trachea wafts to bring this mucus up and out of it
what is the relationship between pressure and volume
Pressure is indirectly proportional to volume
what happens when you breath in
To breathe in:
When you contract your diaphragm, it flattens
Your external intercostal muscles contract and internal intercostal muscles relax, in order to pull the ribcage up and out.
why does air flow in when you breath in
By flattening the diaphragm, and making the ribcage go up and out, the space/volume inside the thoracic cavity increases
So, as the volume increases, the pressure decreases.
When the pressure decreases below atmospheric pressure, it creates a sucking effect, and air whooshes in. This is breathing in.
what happens when you breath out
To breathe out: the internal intercostal muscles contract and external intercostal muscles relax pulling the chest down and in, the diaphram also relaxes, flattening and the thoracic pressure becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure, causing the air to go out the mouth
why is smoking bad for you breifly
Smoking is extremely bad for you as it disrupts gas exchange in multiple ways:
why do alveoli need to be free
Alveoli need to be free, without any dirt or bacteria, and it needs to have as big a surface area as possible
what does cigarette smoke contain (3)
What does cigarette smoke contain:
nicotine: addictive substance in cigarettes and brings a sense of calm, well-being and this feeling of ‘being able to cope’
CO - poisonous gas - has a higher affinity with haemoglobin compared to oxygen
Tar accumulates in lungs - build up of tar leads to breakdown of alveolar tissue which leads to COPD
