Respiratory P1 Flashcards
What is included in the upper respiratory tract?
- Nose and nasal cavity
- Pharynx
- Larynx
What is included in the lower respiratory tract?
- Trachea (windpipe)
- Bronchial tubes
- alveoli.
What are the characteristics of the nose and nasal cavity?
- The external nose is constructed from bone and hyaline cartilage
-It is lined with a mucus membrane - Divided internally by the nasal septum
- Two openings are known as the external nares or nostrils
- Olfactory receptors are located in the olfactory epithelium in the
roof of the nose/nasal cavity
▫ Permit the reception of odourants
Serves the following functions:
▫ Warms air
▫ Prevents dehydration
▫ Covered with mucus membrane
and traps particles
▫ Cilia propel particles towards the
pharynx where they can be
swallowed
What is the characteristics of the pharynx?
- Posterior to the nasal cavity and extends to the larynx
- Three regions
▫ Nasopharynx
▫ Oropharynx
▫ Laryngopharynx - Contains the openings of the auditory tubes
▫ Also known as pharyngotympanic tubes or eustachian tubes
▫ Linked to the middle ear and equalises air pressure
You can feel this as ‘popping’ when rapidly changing altitude
Constructed of skeletal muscle - Circular and longitudinal
▫ Contraction involved in swallowing (deglutition) - Lined with mucus membrane
- Contains the tonsils (palatine and lingual)
▫ Patches of lymphatic tissue similar to lymph nodes
▫ Play a role in immunity
▫ Subject to inflammation (tonsilitis), especially common in children
and young adults
What is the characteristics of the larynx?
- Connects the pharynx with the trachea
- Constructed from 9 sections of cartilage
- Contains the vocal folds for speech
- Also contains the epiglottis
▫ Leaf-shaped elastic cartilage
▫ Closes off the glottis
▫ Prevents food or fluid from entering the trachea during swallowing
What is the characteristics of the trachea?
- Tubular windpipe extending from the larynx to the two primary
bronchial tubes
▫ Around the level of the 5th thoracic vertebra (T5) - Constructed from 4 layers:
- Mucosa
▫ Inner-most layer
▫ Pseudostratified ciliated epithelium
▫ Mucus traps particles and is propelled by the cilia to be swallowed
Submucosa
▫ Mostly areolar (loose) connective tissue
▫ Also contains mucus-secreting glands and their ducts - Hyaline cartilage
▫ 16-20 incomplete cartilage rings
▫ Open portion faces posteriorly towards the oesophagus – ends
connected by trachealis muscle - Adventitia
▫ Connective tissue outer layer
What are the characteristics of the bronchial tubes?
The trachea divides into the two primary bronchi
* Each primary bronchus feeds air into and out of either the left or
right lung
* Lined with pseudostratified ciliated epithelia
* Also has incomplete cartilage rings
* Lower internal ridge where the right and left
bronchi originate is known as the carina
▫ Very sensitive and triggers cough reflex
* Primary bronchi divide into secondary or lobar bronchi
▫ Each secondary bronchus feeds a single lobe of the lung
* These further divide into tertiary or segmental bronchi
* More divisions into smaller bronchioles
* Smallest bronchioles known as terminal bronchi
* Branching of bronchial tubes know as the bronchial tree
What are the characteristics of the lungs?
- Paired organs that sit inside the thoracic cavity
- Surround the heart
- The left and right lung reside in separate double-walled structures
called pleural membranes
▫ Parietal pleura line the inside of the thoracic cavity
▫ Visceral pleura cover the lungs - Small space between these layers known as the pleural cavity
▫ Contains lubricating fluid to allow smooth inflation and deflation of
the lungs
What are the characteristics of the alveoli?
- Terminal bronchioles represent the end of the conducting zone of
the lung
▫ Structures that carry air into and out of the lung - Each terminal bronchus gives rise to multiple respiratory
bronchioles
▫ This is the start of the respiratory zone of the lung - Clusters of inter-connected hollow spheres called alveoli extend
from an alveolar duct that is contiguous with each respiratory
bronchus - Each alveolus is covered in pulmonary
capillaries
▫ For gas exchange - Also covered in elastic fibres
▫ Stretch during inspiration
▫ Recoil to aid exhalation - Macrophages are present on the inner
surface
▫ No cilia or mucus for self-cleaning
What is pulmonary ventilation?
The respiratory system constantly delivering oxygen-rich atmospheric air to the alveoli and expelling carbon-dioxide rich are from the alveoli to the atmosphere.
The movement of air into and out of our lungs is dependant on
different air pressures
▫ Atmospheric air pressure and pressures inside our lungs
* Air movement follows Boyle’s law
* Boyle’s law is concerned with the association of the pressure and
volume of a gas
▫ Pressure is inversely proportional to volume
* A simple bicycle pump uses the same principle
▫ Air enters the tyre once the pressure is high enough in the pump
cylinder
What is Boyle’s Law?
P1V1 = P2V2
* The main premise of Boyle’s law is:
▫ If the volume of a gas is increased, its pressure reduces
▫ If the volume of a gas is reduced, its pressure increases
* Our lungs reside in our thoracic cavity
▫ Encased in the pleural membrane
* Our respiratory muscles make our lungs into a type of pump
▫ If we increase their volume, the air pressure reduces
▫ If we reduce their volume, the air pressure increases
To inflate our lungs with external air, we must reduce the air
pressure within them
▫ Known as intrapulmonary or alveolar pressure
* To achieve this, we increase the lung volume
* Once alveolar air pressure is lower than atmospheric pressure, air
flows into our lungs
* To exhale we must increase alveolar air pressure by reducing the
lung volume
* Air is expelled from our lungs once alveolar air pressure is greater
than atmospheric air pressure
What are the jobs of the diaphragm, external intercostals, internal intercostals, abdominals, obliques, scalenes and sternocleidomastoid?
To increase and decrease the lung volume.
What muscles are used for inhalation?
- Diaphragm
▫ Dome-shaped muscle forms the lower section of the thoracic cavity
▫ Flattens around 1 cm during quiet breathing
▫ Can flatten up to 10 cm during strenuous breathing
▫ Contraction contributes ≈ 75% of inhaled air - External intercostals
▫ Raise and widen the rib cage
▫ Contribute ≈ 25% of inhaled air
What is residual volume?
▫ Not all air expelled from lungs
▫ Volume of air remaining in lungs after forced expiration
What is tidal volume?
▫ Resting volume of air inhaled and exhaled
▫ Represents air moved in one breath
What is inspiratory reserve volume?
▫ Achieved during deep inhalation
▫ Excess volume inhaled beyond the normal tidal volume
What is expiratory reserve volume?
▫ Achieved during deep expiration
▫ Excess volume exhaled beyond the normal tidal volume
What is lung capacity?
Combinations of different lung volumes
▫ Often used to determine lung function
What is Inspiratory Capacity?
- Inspiratory Capacity
▫ Inspiratory reserve volume + tidal volume
▫ Maximum volume of air inhaled from normal expiratory level
What is Functional Residual Capacity?
- Functional Residual Capacity
▫ Expiratory reserve volume + residual volume
▫ Volume of air remaining in lungs after normal expiration
What is vital capacity?
▫ Inspiratory reserve volume + tidal volume + expiratory reserve
volume
▫ Maximum volume of air that can be inhaled/exhaled
What is total lung capacity?
▫ Vital capacity + residual volume
What controls breathing?
skeletal muscles and the respiratory centres.
What is the respiratory centre?
- Two clusters of neurons are responsible for breathing
▫ Medullary respiration centre in the medulla oblongata
▫ Pontine respiratory group in the pons - Collectively known as the respiratory centre
- Breathing rate and depth can be influenced by other regions of
the CNS and PNS
▫ We can voluntarily hold our breath
▫ Stimulation is achieved by the hypothalamus and limbic system in
response to emotions inducing laughing a or crying
▫ Receptors detect the concentrations of CO2, O2 and H+ and initiate
changes to breathing
What is the atmospheric pressure at sea level?
760 mmHg (101.325 kPa or 1 atm).
Air pressure reduces as we increase altitude (less air being pulled down)
at 5,500 m, air pressure is ~ half that at sea level (380 mmHg)
Why is breathing important?
- As aerobic organisms, we consume large quantities of oxygen
- During ATP production, we produce carbon dioxide that must be eliminated
▫ Higher CO2 concentration increases H2CO3 formation and reduces blood pH - Therefore, the quantity of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air we breathe is of importance
▫ We need oxygen
▫ We need to remove carbon dioxide
What is Dalton’s Law?
Total air pressure is the sum of the partial pressures of all gases in a mixture
* N2 - 78.6% PN2 = 597.4 mmHg
* O2 - 20.9% PO2 = 158.8 mmHg
* Ar - 0.093% PAr = 0.7 mmHg
* CO2 - 0.04% PCO2 = 0.3 mmHg
* H2O - 0.367% PH2O = 2.8 mmHg
* Total - 760 mmHg
What is Henry’s Law?
When a gas is in contact with a liquid, the dissolved gas is proportional to its partial pressure and solubility.
* A high partial pressure and solubility will increase the amount of gas dissolved in solution
* A low partial pressure and solubility will cause a decrease in gas dissolved in solution
What are the Partial Pressures of atmospheric air in the Respiratory system?
▫ PO2 = 159 mmHg
▫ PCO2 = 0.3 mmHg
What is the partial pressures of alveolar air in the respiratory system?
▫ PO2 = 104 mmHg
▫ PCO2 = 40 mmHg
How much oxygen is in plasma?
1.5% as it has poor solubility in water.
How much oxygen binds to haemoglobin in RBCs?
98.5%, each haemoglobin molecule has 4 haem units and each one binds to one O2 molecule, when an O2 molecule has bound to a haemoglobin it is known as oxyhaemoglobin.
What factors affect the oxyhaemoglobin saturation?
O2 binding to haemoglobin is easily reversable
* Haemoglobin that is fully converted to oxyhaemoglobin is said to be fully saturated
* Oxyhaemoglobin saturation is dependant on the PO2
* We can plot the relationship between PO2 and oxyhaemoglobin saturation
▫ Oxygen-haemoglobin dissociation curve
- Higher Hb-O2 affinity (left shift), lower CO2, higher pH, lower temp.
- Reduced Hb-O2 affinity(right shift), higher CO2, lower pH and higher temp.
* Acidity
▫ Binding of oxygen to haemoglobin decreases with acidity – Bohr effect
▫ H+ increase causes oxygen to dissociate from haemoglobin
This effect is advantageous in tissues with a high H+ concentration as it increases oxygen unloading
* Carbon dioxide partial pressure
▫ Increased PCO2 decreases O2 binding
▫ CO2 binds to haemoglobin forming carbaminohaemoglobin
* Temperature
▫ Increased heat reduces oxygen binding to haemoglobin
How is Carbon Dioxide transported through the blood?
- Bicarbonate ions – HCO3-
▫ Accounts for around 70% of CO2 transport
▫ Present in plasma and produced by carbonic anhydrase (CA)
CO2 + H2O CA H+ + HCO3-
▫ Reaction reverse in pulmonary capillaries
CO2 exhaled - Carbamino compounds
▫ CO2 binds to amino groups of amino acids
▫ Accounts for 23% of CO2 transport
▫ Haemoglobin is the predominant protein in blood
▫ CO2 binds to form carbaminohaemoglobin
Hb + CO2 Hb-CO2
▫ Promoted by high PCO2 - Dissolved CO2
▫ Simply dissolved in plasma (7%)
What does ventilated mean?
the flow of air into the alveolus
What does Perfused mean?
The blood flow through the pulmonary capillaries.
Is all alveoli ventilated equally in inhalation?
No, alveoli at the base of the lungs receive more air