RESP VIVA Flashcards
The nose and nasal cavity
Main point of air entry, providing warming and humidifying of air.
Has a protective function via the hairs known as cilia and mucus to catch air particles.
The soft and hard palette
Form the roof of the mouth and structure for the pharynx
The pharynx
Split into three.
With the oropharynx and Nasopharynx providing structure and regulating air flow
The larynx
A continuation of the pharynx
Known as the voice box
Controlling airflow
The oesophagus
Involved in both the respiratory and digestive system.
The trachea
Extends down from the larynx to where it branches into each lung at the carnea of the trachea and into bronchi
The bronchi
Further divide into bronchioles, then into alveoli where gas exchange occurs
The lungs
Sit in the thoracic cavity
The right is slightly bigger than the left due to where the heart sits
The right has 3 lobes- superior, middle, inferior
The left has 2 lobes- superior, inferior
Surrounded by plura which acts as a protective barrier of membrane
Main functions of the respiratory system
Provide a surface area for gas exchange to occur.
Allowing air to move along the respiratory tract to the lungs.
Oxygen is extracted from the atmosphere and carbon dioxide is excreted.
What is respiration
The exchange of gases between body cells and the environment
Consisting of breathing and gas exchange
What is breathing
The movement of air down the respiratory tract to the lungs
Works due to the use of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles
What is the diaphragm
Creates the floor of the thoracic cavity and the roof of the abdominal
Able to move up and down during breathing
Vital capacity
Happens as expiration happens
The total amount of air left in the lungs after a normal exhalation
The total volume of the lungs, equal to the inspiratory reserve volume and the expiratory reserve volume
Gas exchange
Occurs at the alveoli in the lungs and at the tissue,
Due to diffusion from a higher pressure gradient to a lower pressure gradient
Until equilibrium is established
Gas exchange at the lungs and at the tissue
Tissue- CO2 is diffused out and O2 is diffused in
Lungs- O2 is diffused out and CO2 is diffused in
Why does gas exchange occur at the alveoli in the lungs
Because it is structured by a single layer of epithelial cells
Explain gas exchange at the alveoli
Deoxygenated blood comes from the heart via the pulmonary artery, this is saturated with CO2
At the capillaries surrounding the alveoli CO2 diffuses into the alveoli and O2 gets diffused from the alveoli into the blood stream to travel back to the heart via the pulmonary vein
What is CO2
A waste product of respiration
Transportation of CO2
Through a CO2 carriage that occurs at both the lungs and at the tissue
CO2 carriage at the tissue
Diffuses down a concentration gradient, out of the tissue and into the RBC
In the RBC, CO2 and H2O become catalysed by carbonic anhydrase to form H2CO3 (carbonic acid)
H2CO3 is hydrolysed into H+ ions which can travel in the blood.
CO2 carriage at the lungs
The RBC has H2CO3 which catalyses into H2O and CO2 to allow the CO2 to travel the concentration gradient into the alveoli for expiration
Why does the CO2 carriage happen
To maintain electroneutrality of the RBC
What does the O2 dissociation curve show
The relationship between particle pressure of oxygen and oxygen saturations of haemoglobin.
Showing how saturated haemoglobin is with oxygen at different particle pressures.
Oxyhaemoglobin
Hb + O2 = HbO2
