Respiratory System

Question 1

What does the respiratory system consist of?

Answer 1

The nose, a series of airways, lungs and respiratory muscles.

Question 2

List the respiratory organs

Answer 2

nasal cavity
pharynx
larynx
trachea
lungs
bronchi
bronchioles
alveoli
diaphragm

Question 3

What is the pathway of air?

Answer 3

Air passes through the nose/mouth.
It goes down the trachea.
It passes through the bronchi into bronchioles.
It ends in the alveoli where gases are exxhanged.

Question 4

What does the blood consist of?

Answer 4

Approx 45% cells.
55% plasma

Question 5

Why is gas transport essential?

Answer 5

O2 is carried from the alveoli to the body tissue to produce energy aerobically.
The more efficient your body is at inspiring, transporting and using O2, the greater the aerobic capacity to perform for long periods of low intensity.

Question 6

How can O2 be transported in two ways?

Answer 6

1. carried within haemoglobin (Hb) in the red blood cells (approx. 97%)
   = HbO2 or Oxyhaemoglobin
2. carried with blood plasma (approx. 3%)

Question 7

What is waste product of gases?

Answer 7

CO2 is waste product of aerobic energy and must be removed from respiring tissue and transported to the alveoli.

Question 8

How is waste product transported?

Answer 8

> dissolved in water and carried as carbonic acid (approx. 70%)

> carried within Hb (approx. 23%)
= HbCO2 or carbaminohaemoglobin

> dissolved in blood plasma (approx. 7%)

Question 9

What is breathing rate?

Answer 9

Breathing Rate (F)
Represents the number of inspirations or expirations taken in one min
(approx. 12-15)

Question 10

What is tidal volume?

Answer 10

Tidal Volume (TV)
The volume of air inspired or expired in one breath
Average TV is 500ml

Question 11

What is minute ventilation?

Answer 11

Minute Ventilation (VE)
the volume of air inspired or expired per minute
breathing rate x tidal volume
based on resting breathing rate 15 breaths per minute and TV 500ml, resting VE is 7500ml (7.5 l/min)

Question 12

What is TV response to exercise?

Answer 12

TV increase in proportion to exercise intensity at sub max intensities (up to approx. 3L).
TV reaches a plateau during sub max intensity as increasing breathing rate towards max intensities doesn’t allow enough time and requires too much muscular effort for max inspirations and expirations.

Question 13

What is VE response to exercise?

Answer 13

Increase in line with exercise intensity. Both breathing R8 and TV increase.
During sustained submaximal intensity exercise, VE can plateau as you reach a steady state.

Question 14

What is inspiration at rest?

Answer 14

Active process. External intercostal muscles and diaphragm contract to increase volume of thoracic cavity.

1. intercostal muscles contract and lift the ribcage and sternum up and out
2. the diaphragm contracts and flattens