Chapter 17 & 18 respiratory system Flashcards
What are the four functions of the respiratory system? Describe each.
-
Gas exhcange:
a. To take in oxygen and eliminate carbon dioxide.
b. takes oxygen from atmosphere to lungs to blood to tissues then goes back the opposite direction during carbon dioxide pathway. -
Regulation of blood pH
a. CO2 can serve as a buffer and H+ -
Vocalization:
a. air moves across vocal cords and causes vibrations -
Protection
a. epithelium-cells lining the respiratory tract are for protection agaisnt dust, pathogens and chemicals
What is a conducting zone? What is a respiratory zone? Give* an example of each*.
-
Conducting zone: brings air into lungs
a. nasal cavity brings air into terminal branchioles -
Respiratory zone: are sites of gas exchange
a. respiratory bronchioles to alveolar sacs
What do the conduction zones do to air as it passes? What happens as air passes outward over vocal focals?
- It conditions air by:
a. Warming air to 37 degrees C
b. Humidifies
c. Filteres and cleans the air - Voice or speech is produced
What is a characteristic of the respiratory zone? What are the two types of alveolar cells? What is their purpose?
- They are typoically moist filled sacs
- There are:
a. Type I alveolar cells which are the site of gas exchange due to their thin simple squamous epithelieum
b. Type II alveolar cells reabsorb excess fluid and secrete a surfactant which helps reduce surface tension
What is surfactant composed of? When is it produced? What risk do premature babies face?
- It is a mixture of protein and phosopholipids
- Production begins in late fetal life
- Premature risk respiratory distress sydndrome as inadequate surfactant may lead to collapsed alveoli
What is ventilation? What is perfusion? What relationship do they have?
- Ventilation: is the movement of air betwen atmosphere and lungs
- Perfusion: is the blood flow through vessels
- They are both equally matched to maximize gas exchange
What happens when the ventilation/perfusion relationship is mismatched? What mechanisms take place to keep the ventilation perfusion relationship matched?
- If ventilation decreases in an alveoli group, Co2 will increase where o2 will decrease. Blood flowing past these alveoli will not get oxygenated
- If tissue has low O2 and the surrounding alveoli in an alveoli group is underdeveloped, the arteriole or tissue will constrict and divert blood to the better ventillated alveoli
What does normal alveolar ventilation look like? What about asthma? What about pulmonary edema? Fibrotic lung disease? Or emphysema?
- Normal alveolar ventilation: there is an adequate supply of O2 in the alveoli. Deoxygenated blood in arteriole becomes oxygenated by alveoli.
- Asthma: Airway resistance increases which constricts bronchioles. Alveoli have a low supply of oxygen and are unable to supply deoxygenated blood with oxygen.
- Pulmonary edema: Fluid in the interstitial space increases which also increases the distance for diffusion of oxygen between the alveoli and arteriole. Oxygen levels in the alveoli are adequate but the increased distance lowers the amount of oxygen available to the arterioles.
- Fibrotic lung diease: The wall of the alveolar membrane thickens which decreases ventilation.
- Emphysema occurs when air sacs are destroyed by rupturing or meging into one air sac which decreases surface area for gas exchange. This decreases ventilation
What is respiation? What is the respiratory cycle? What is respiration rate? What is ventilation? what are the two types of ventilation?
- Respiration: exchange of O2 and CO2 between atmosphere and body cells
- Respiratory cycle: breathing in and out
- Respiration rate: the amount of breaths per minute
-
Ventilation: breathing
a. Inspiration: breathing in
b. Experation: breathing out
What is the pathway of respiration?
- Exhcange 1: O2 is exchanged between the atmosphere and lungs from the airways and the lungs.
- Exchange 2: O2 is exchanged in alveoli between the lungs and the blood in the pulmonary circuit.
- Transport: gases in the blood are circulated through the pulmonary circuit into the systemic circuit
- Exchange 3: oxygen is exchanged between the blood and the cells for CO2. CO2 is then returns via the systemic and pulmonary circuits where it is then expeled intot the atmopshere.
What is external respiration? What is the equation for internal cellular respiration?
- External respiration begins with:
a. exhcange of air between atmorphere and lungs
b. exchange of O2 and CO2 between lungs and blood
c. transport of O2 and CO2 gases by blood
d. exchange of O2 and CO2 between blood and cellls - Equation: C6H16)6 + 6O2 =^CO2 + 6H2O
What are the four gas laws? Explain them.
- Grahams law: gases diffuse from areas of higher pressure to areas of lower pressure
- Daltons law: the total pressure of a mixture of gases is the sum of individual gas pressures
- Boyles law: the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to the volume of the container
- Henrys law: the solubility of a gas in a liquid is proportional to partial pressure at equilibrium
How is **atmospheric pressure **measured? What is average atmospheric pressure at sea level?
- Pressure can be measured using a barometer
- At sea level pressure is at 760mmHg
How can Daltons law be calculated? What is the partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere?
- Partial pressure of a gas can be calculated by multiplying the % of gas by total pressure
- Oxygen makes up about 21% of the atmosphere so partial pressure of O2 =760 X .21 = 159mmHg.
To calculate O2 from partial pressure use: 159/760 X 100
What is Boyles law? What happens when lung volume increases or decreases?
- Pressure is inversely proportional to volume
- a. an increase in lung volume during inspiration decreases lung pressure and air goes in
b. a decrease in lung volume during exhalation increases lung pressure and air goes out
What happenes to air as the volumes of the thoracic cavity and lung volume change? What are the three pleuras?

- As the volumes of the thoracic cavity and lung change, air moves from higher to lower pressure.
- a. parietal pleura line thoracic wall
b. visceral pleura cover the lungs
c. pleural cavity with potential intrapleural space between
What are the three types of pressure in relation to the body?

- Atmospheric pressure: pressure of air outside the body
- Intrapulmonary pressure: pressure in the lungs
- Intrapleural pressure: pressure within intrapleural space(between parietal and visceral pleura)
At rest, what keeps the lungs adhered to the chest wall? What is pneumothorax and what causes it?
- At rest the pleural fluid keeps the lung adhered to the chest wall.
a. elastic recoil of the chest wall tries to pull the chest wall outward while elastic recoil of lung creates an inward pull. - Pneumothorax: when the bond holding the lung to the chest is broken and the lung collapses as the pleural cavity is opened to the atmosphere; air flows in.
What are the muscles used in inspiration? What are the muscles used for expiration?
- Inspiration: sternocleido-mastoids, scalenes, external intercostals, diaphragm
- Expiration: internal intercostals, abdominal muscles
How is the the movement of the rib cage during inspiration?
- It has a bucket handle motion which increases lateral dimension of rib cage vertebrae
What are the movements of the diaphragm at rest and during contraction.
- When diaphragm contracts the thoracic volume increases
- When diaphragm relaxes the thoracic volume decreases
What are the factors that depend on the amount of gas that can dissolve in liquid?
- The amount of gas that can dissolve in liquid depends on:
a. solubilityof the gas in the liquid
b. temperature of the fluid
c. partial pressure of the gases
How is gas exchanged when Oxygen is higher in the lungs? How is gas exchanged when CO2 is higher in the blood?
- When O2 is higher in lungs than blood O2 diffuses from the lungs to blood
- When CO2 is higher in blood than lungs CO2 diffuses from blood to lungs
What is decompression sickness? What is the cause? Who can it happen to?
- When a person experiences a sudden change in pressure
- Dissolved N2 gas comes out of solutions as pressure decreases/increases with ascent/descent which causes bubbles to form in the blood and travel to tissues and organs.
- This can happen to scuba divers who surface to quickly or airplane attendants when a spacecraft looses pressure
