Paper 1 - Respiratory System Flashcards
What does the respiratory system do?
It brings oxygen into the body so it can be used to produce energy. It then gets rid of CO2, a waste product, produced in the muscles during exercise.
What is the pathway of air?
When you breathe in, air enters through the nose and mouth. It then travels down the trachea which connects to the lungs. Then is passes through the bronchi and bronchioles and into the alveoli, where gaseous exchange occurs.
What is gaseous exchange?
The process where oxygen from the air in the alveoli moves into the blood in the capillaries, while CO2 moves from the blood in the capillaries into the air in the alveoli.
What is the process of gaseous exchange?
Oxygen that has been breathed in passes through the alveoli and into the red blood cells in the capillaries.
In the capillaries, the oxygen combines with haemoglobin to form oxyhemoglobin an dis then carried around the body.
At the same time haemoglobin carries CO2 from the body to the capillaries.
The CO2 in the capillaries passes through the alveoli and is breathed out.
What is haemoglobin?
The protein found in red blood cell that transport oxygen (as oxyhemoglobin) and CO2 around the body.
What is oxyhaemoglobin?
A chemical formed when haemoglobin bond to oxygen.
What are the alveoli?
Small air sacs in the lungs where gaseous exchange takes place.
What are capillaries?
A network of microscopic blood vessels. They’re one cell thick.
What is the diffusion pathway?
The distance travelled during diffusion.
The diffusion pathway is short in gaseous exchange.
What are the mechanics of breathing?
As we breathe in the chest cavity changes shape and size.
The diaphragm flattens and moves downwards.
The intercostal muscles contract, raising the ribs up and pushing out the sternum making the chest cavity larger.
This reduces the air pressure inside the chest cavity and causes air to be sucked into the lungs.
When we breathe out the reverse process occurs.
The diaphragm becomes dome shaped.
The intercostal muscles relax, lowering the ribs and dropping the sternum, making the chest cavity smaller.
This increases the air pressure inside the air cavity and causes air to be pushed out of the lungs.
What is inhalation/ inspiration?
The process of breathing in.
What is exhalation/ expiration?
The process of breathing out.
What is a spirometer trace?
A piece of equipment that measures the air capacity of the human lungs.
What is the expiratory reserve volume?
The amount of air that can be forced out after tidal volume.
Decreases during exercise
Inspiratory reserve volume.
The amount of air that can be forced in after tidal volume.
Decreases during exercise.
