cardio-respiratory system Flashcards
respiratory system
primary is to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide.
process controlled by lungs - affected by muscles that can act both voluntarily and involuntarily. mostly involuntary
atmospheric air
the air around the body which is used for breathing
differences between composition of atmospheric air and the air we breath out
expired air contains less oxygen than inspired air - represents that used by the aerobic energy systems.
carbon dioxide greater in expired air than inspired - represents that produced by the aerobic energy systems
even though nitrogen is used by the body for a variety of functions, its relative consumption is so small that it is considered negligible.
percentage gases inspired and expired
oxygen - inspired = 20.93% expired = 16.93%
carbon dioxide - inspired = 0.03% expired = 4.03%
nitrogen - inspired = 79.04% expired = 79.04%
functions of the lungs
lungs provide the only point of contact between blood and the external environment.
supply of oxygen to meet the tissue demands of the body
elimination of waste products - carbon dioxide
structure of lungs
av lung weighs 1kg and holds between 4-6 litres of air
if spread out the contents of the lungs would cover and entire badminton court
lungs are covered by membrane called the ‘pleural sac’ = allows inner and outer walls of lungs to slide freely over each other.
this sac also encloses each lung and divides the lungs into sections - into lobes
pulmonary ventilation
- Describes how atmospheric air moves into and exchanges with air already in lungs
- Air moves into body through nose and mouth after activation of diaphragm and intercostal muscles
- Tiny hairs and mucus in back of nose and throat filter the air
- They have 3 functions = warm, moisten and purify air before enters lungs
- Passage of air = pharynx, larynx, trachea and bronchus
- In bronchus air splits and passes into either right or left lung
- In lung bronchi split to form bronchioles which transport air to alveoli
- Oxygen enters capillaries from alveolus
- Carbon dioxide enters alveolus from capillaries
- Oxygen in blood is delivered to body tissues to fuel metabolism
- During pulmonary ventilation a percentage of gasses in alveoli and airways is not directly exchanged = dead space
gaseous exchange
- Made possible because of semipermeable capillaries and partial pressure between the 2 environments
- Capillaries are 1 cell thick so gasses and nutrients can diffuse across easily
- Partial pressure of oxygen is about 60 mmHg greater than in the pulmonary capillary which allows for the diffusion of carbon dioxide and oxygen between capillaries and alveolus
- Exercise increases speed of diffusion
- Higher pressure = higher rate of diffusion
vasalva manoeuvre
a respiratory technique that involves closing narrowest part of the trachea (glottis) following maximum inhalation to increases intrathoracic pressure.
risks of vasalva maneouvre
- increased intrathoracic and abdominal pressure impedes venous return, especially blood returning in the inferior vena cava which can often cause many thoracic veins to actually collapse
- dizziness and loss of consciousness are highly possible due to reduced venous return
- blood clots can detach = reopened wounds
- prolonged vasalva manoeuvres produced a significant and rapid drop in blood pressure
- when the glottis reopens, an overshoot in blood pressure occurs placing additional and unnecessary strain on cardiovascular system
the heart’s wall consists of 3 layers of cardiac tissue
pericardium
myocardium
endocardium
pericardium
the protective outer case of heart.
Is composed of two sacs = the outer sac provides a fibrous protective layer, and the inner sac = a double layered serum-like membrane.
when healthy these sacs act as a single structure with a thin film fluid separating them; as the heart contracts this fluid film enables the sacs to move freely alongside each other.
Myocardium
- Forms bulk of the heart
- Represents the heart’s muscular wall
- It is multinucleated
- Its fibres are structured in a lattice arrangement
- Its structure is crucial to the stimulation or depolarisation of the heart
- When one muscle cell is stimulated, the adjacent cells are also contracted causing a synchronised contraction throughout heart’s wall
- Has virtually no anaerobic ability and relies entirely on a rich supply of oxygen from coronary arteries
Endocardium
a smooth inner lining of the heart and is continuous with the large blood vessels to which the heart is connected.
respiratory control
- Typically involuntary
- Can be voluntary for short time
- Breathing is also controlled by higher centres in the brain
- A variety of other factors have the potential to indirectly influence breathing including temperature, fear, anxiety, drugs and alcohol
the mechanisms that summarise a range of factors that control respiration
the respiratory centre
chemoreceptors
the respiratory centre
- Formed by a group of nerve cells that control the rate and depth at which we breathe
- Located deep in brain stem
- They transmit motor impulses to the diaphragm and intercostal muscles to initiate breathing
- Also activate accessory respiratory muscles as required
chemoreceptors
- Respond to changes in the partial pressure of both oxygen and carbon dioxide
- Provide constant feedback to respiratory centre about oxygen and carbon dioxide levels
- When carbon dioxide levels rise, the respiratory centre is stimulated which increases rate and depth of breathing by activation respiratory muscles
the structure of the heart
- Heart has ability to regulate the strength of its own contractions
- When heart rate increases a greater volume of blood returns to heart and causes chambers to enlarge
- Which larger chambers each contraction is able to pump out more blood with each beat
- This process reverses when hr lowers
- The four chambers are classified according to their upper or lower position
- Upper chambers = atria
- Lower chambers = ventricles
- Heart divided into right and left side by a thick muscular walled called septum
bradycardia
term used to describe a resting heart rate below 60 BPM - this has potential to result in insufficient oxygenation, or ischemia, of the heart’s own muscular wall and other body tissues.
tachycardia
describes a resting HR above 100 BPM. this condition can be dangerous as diastole is significantly reduced, which lowers the efficiency of each heart beat and ultimately reduces the volume of blood and oxygen.
regulation of heart rate
- Hr is regulated intrinsically by heart’s own conduction system and extrinsically by endocrine system
- Intrinsic conduction system = pacemaker
- Pacemaker is controlled by the sinoatrial node (S-A node)
- This initiates a tiny wave of electrical impulses across wall of the atria
- This causes the atria to contract and force their content into the ventricles
- Impulses starting at the S-A node move across atria to the atrioventricular node
- This node briefly delays the contraction of the ventricles to allow them time to fill
- Then the A-V node transmits the impulse across the wall of the ventricles
- This is via a network of conducting fibres called purkinje fibres
coronary veins
remove blood and waste products from the tissues, or in this case cardiac tissues.
the coronary veins transport deoxygenated blood from the myocardium to the vena cava so that it can be transported to the lungs for re-oxygenation.
heart disease
an umbrella term to describe many conditions affecting the cardiovascular system. heart disease is the single most preventable cause of premature death in developed countries and may also be described as cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease (CAD), coronary heart disease (CHD) and occasionally degenerative heart disease (DHD).
coronary arteries
- They arise from just about the aortic valve
- Collectively they span the heart’s surface
- They deliver nutrients and gases to network of capillaries surrounding myocardial cells
- The left coronary artery splits into left anterior descending coronary artery and left circumflex
- These deliver to the myocardium surrounding the left atrium and ventricle
- The right coronary artery delivers oxygen to the right atrium and ventricle
- The majority of blood flow through the coronary arteries towards the heart’s myocardium occurs during systole
- The uptake of oxygen and nutrients mostly takes place during diastole
systolic
blood pressure refers to the pressure in the arteries during systole, the point at which the ventricles are ejecting blood
diastolic
blood pressure describes the pressure in the arteries during diastole, the resting phase between heart beats.
those suffering from hypertension are also much more likely to develop other conditions and diseases - such as
stroke
transient ischemic attack (TIA - mini stroke)
kidney failure
coronary circulation
- This is a network of blood vessels from which the heart receives its oxygen supply
- Its function is to keep myocardium continually supplied with blood and oxygen so heart can keep supplying rest of body with nutrients.
- The myocardium has very little anaerobic capacity so is dependent on coronary arteries for oxygen
- Regular physical activity = longer diastoles and lower resting HR which increases delivery of oxygen to myocardium
atherosclerosis
- Degenerative process in which cholesterol-rich plaques called atheroma accumulate on inner lining of medium and large arteries
- This results in narrowing of the internal diameter or lumen of the artery which reduces blood flow through it
- Cholesterols that form the bulk of this plaque are usually harmful low-density lipoproteins (LDLs)
arteriosclerosis
- Process occurs when the elastic tissue in the arteries starts to waste and artery wall hardens
- This stiffening reduces its ability to dilate, esp during physical activity, which causes rapid increase in blood pressure
- Leading causes = smoking, hypertension and high cholesterol
- Being male and hereditary factors are also strongly linked
- There is a strong link between arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis because the fatty deposits in the artery wall can initiate the hardening process
stages of atherosclerosis
healthy artery thrombus plaque forms plaque raptures blood clot forms
Ischemia
- Describes shortage of oxygen and glucose in one or more body tissues
- Commonly caused by progressed cases of atherosclerosis
- Can trigger a number of symptoms depending on affected arteries
- Eg because the myocardium is wholly dependent on oxygen, atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries can lead to ischemia in the myocardium = angina