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Respiratory System Flashcards

1
Q

What are the two pleural layers known as?

A

parietal layer & Visceral layer

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2
Q

What is the purpose of the parietal layer?

A

lines thoracic cavity

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3
Q

What is the purpose of the visceral layer?

A

covers the lungs

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4
Q

Both plural membranes secrete pleural fluid. What is the purpose of the fluid?

A

lubricates the gap between both layers reducing friction and heat generation during breathing

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5
Q

What is a pneumothorax?

A

penetrating trauma to thoracic wall will draw air into the pleural space causing pressure to become positive. This restricts lung expansion

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6
Q

What are the signs of a pneumothorax?

A
  1. respiratory distress
  2. tachypnoea (rapid breathing)
  3. rapid drop in sats & BP
  4. Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat)
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7
Q

What is the upper airway?

A

extending from the nasopharynx to the pharynx. It has two openings: nares and mouth

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8
Q

What is the purpose of the upper airway?

A

Natural breathing occurs through the nose and allows us to smell danger and breathe while feeding. Mouth breathing occurs during exercise

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9
Q

Nasal Cavity

A

Hair and turbinates in nasal cavities filter and humidify inspired air. 10,000L of air passes through the nasal cavity per day. 1L of moisture added to this air. Nasal cavity approx 10-14cm long.

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10
Q

What is the mucociliary apparatus in the trachea?

A

the mucociliary transport allows impacted particles to be removed from the terminal bronchioles to the trachea by the ciliary beats of the epithelial cells in the mucus of the bronchi.

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11
Q

What is the Alveoli

A

bronchioles divide into terminal bronchioles. These terminate at the alveoli. 300 million of them in the lungs. Surface area of 70m2. Allows for a larger surface area for gas exchange. Pulmonary capillaries wrap around the alveoli to enable gas exchange which also maximise gas exchange

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12
Q

What is ventilation?

A

the movement of air in and out of the lungs involves pressure changes between thoracic cavity and the atmosphere. Changes in pressure is accomplished by contraction and relaxation of respiratory muscles.

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13
Q

What are the respiratory muscles?

A
  • intercostal muscles
  • diaphragm
  • accessory muscles during heavy breathing
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14
Q

What are the muscles of inhalation?

A
  • diaphragm
  • external intercostals
  • scalenes
  • sternocleidomastoid
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15
Q

What are the muscles of exhalation?

A
  • internal intercostals
  • external & internal oblique
  • transversus abdominis
  • Rectus abdominis
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16
Q

What does Boyles law state?

A

the pressure of gas in a closed container is inversely proportinal to thr volume of the container

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17
Q

Breathing: Inspiration

A

intercostal muscles contract pulling the thorax up and out. Diaphragm contracts moving down twoards the abdominal cavity. This increases the size of the thoracic cavity causing a -ve pressure.

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18
Q

Breathing: Expiration

A

reverse occurs. Intercostal and diaphragm relax reducing thorax size. Pressure increases and air is expelled.

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19
Q

Volumes

A

breathing quality is evaluated in volumes:
- tidal volume (Tv)
- minute volume (MV)
-rate (RR) (not a volume)

MV= Exp Tv xRR

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20
Q

Normal value for breathing

A

Tv calculated as 6mls per kg body weight.
- 80kg x 6 = 480mls
- MV= 480 x 14 breaths/min= 6720mls
Under normal conditions an 80kg person needs to maintain a MV of 6720mls to maintain normal CO2 levels

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21
Q

Why is knowing normal values important?

A
  • MV will dictate CO2 ellimination
  • Lower MV will result in increased CO2
  • Higher MV will decrease CO2
  • Reduction in Tv or RR can result in elevation in the other to compensate
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22
Q

How is homeostasis maintained?

A
  • Chemoreceptors (nerve cells) will detect a change in CO2 and send impulses to resp centre
  • Increased CO2 will result in quicker breathing
  • Reduced CO2 will result in slower breathing
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23
Q

How can you assess ventilation?

A
  • looking
  • listening
  • spirometry (common test)
  • peak flow
  • chest auscultaion
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24
Q

What is a chest auscultation?

A

they register the intensity of breath sounds over 6 regions. Normal breath sounds are quiet whoosh. Fluid in the alveoli and airways will crackle. Narrowed airways will wheeze. Inflamed pleura will rub.

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25
What are the 6 regions in a chest asucultaion?
1. Apices 2. Superior lobes 3. Middle Lobe 4. Lingula 5. Inferior lobes 6. Lung bases
26
Gas exhange are divided into what two types of respiration?
external and internal respiration
27
what happens in external resp?
pulmonary gas exchange, where O2 is taken up by the blood and CO2 is released. This occures via diffusion due to pressure differences. O2 & CO2 exhange independently of eachother.
28
Respiratory membrane surface area
- resp membrane surface area is 70m2 - oxygen must diffuse across this membrane into pulmonary capillaries - alveloli are arranged with septa seperating each alveoli but with occasional openings (pores of kohn) to allow collateral ventilation.
29
what is an emphysema?
- where the aleveolar septa are destryed by loss of elastic tissue - pores of kohn are also far more pronounced - this then ha a deleterious (harming) effect on the surface area
30
signs and symptoms of emphysema
- pink pallor (skin colour) - hx of extertional dyspnoea - weight loss - satisfactory sats - prone to inefective exacerabations
31
What is nail clubbing (chronic hypoxia)?
Clubbing is changes in the areas under and around the toenails and fingernails that occur with some disorders. The nails may also show changes. Clubbing may result from chronic low blood-oxygen levels. This can be seen with cystic fibrosis, congenital cyanotic heart disease, and several other diseases.
32
What is Dahl's sign?
Thinker's sign, also known as Dahl's sign, was first described in a patient with severe COPD in 1963. It characterized by hyperpigmentation and hyperkeratosis caused by persistent pressure from the elbows of patients who spend large amounts of time in the tripod position (leaning forward due to out of breath). Look for nicotine stains on fingers and smokers face.
33
What is sufactant?
- fluid and air interface produces tension - Surfactant lowers surface tension maintaining structure and enables expansion - this prevents the alveoli from collapsing during expiration. - made out of 4 proteins: SP-A, DP-B, SP-C, SP-D
34
What is the role of SP-A & SP-D proteins?
- inhibiting bacterial growth - activating macrophages (white blood cells) -increasing macrophage membrane receptors - antioxidant properties to counter free radicals
35
What is alveolar recruitment?
- the pressure of the alveloar gas pushes agaisnt the alveolar walls keeping them recruited - nitrogen plays a vital part in this process - flushing out nitrogen can lead to aleveolar collapse as the oxygen will diffuse into circulation reducing the intra-alveolar pressure - can lead to atelectasis (collapse of the lung)
36
What is henry's law?
- partial pressure is the measurement of the pressure a gas exterts within a container of fluid - this is dictated by the kinetic energy its molecules show - pressure in solution also dictated by its solubilty coeffiecent - this is its affinity to water, greater affinity more dissolved exerting less p
37
How does henry's law relate to respiration?
The main application of Henry's law in respiratory physiology is to predict how gasses will dissolve in the alveoli and bloodstream during gas exchange. The amount of oxygen that dissolves into the bloodstream is directly proportional to the partial pressure of oxygen in alveolar air.
38
What is Dalton's Law
* Each gas in a mixture exerts it’s own pressure * Atmospheric pressure (sea level) = pO2 + pCO2 + pN2 + pH2O= 760 mmHg * 760 mmHg, the atmospheric pressure at sea level is the accumulation of atmospheric gas partial pressures
39
How does Dalton's law relate to respiration?
In the lungs, the relative concentration of gasses determines the rate at which each gas will diffuse across the alveolar membranes. Mathematically, the pressure of a mixture of gases can be defined as the sum of the partial pressures of each of the gasses in air.
40
What is external respiration in terms of oxyegn?
- blood returning from the right side of the heart to the pulmonary circulation has an O2 partial pressure (pO2) of 40mmHg - alveolar air has a pO2 of 105mmHg - this has a 65mmHg difference which causes O2 to form the alveoli to diffuse into the pulmonary capillaries
41
What is Fick's law?
The rate of diffusion of gas across a membrane is relative to the partial pressure difference and surface area of the membrane. But is inversely proportional to the membrane thickness
42
How does Fick's law relate to respiration
Traveling from the alveoli to capillary blood, gases must pass through alveolar surfactant, alveolar epithelium, basement membrane, and capillary endothelium. According to Fick's law of diffusion, diffusion of a gas across the alveolar membrane increases with: Increased surface area of the membrane
43
What is the purpose of the pulmonary capillaries
- This exchange continually occurs at a rapid rate - The large surface area of the pulmonary capillaries enables this - These capillaries are also very narrow meaning RBC’s touch the capillary wall as they squeeze through - Capillaries closely arranged to the alveolar wall and the RBC’s squeezing through ensures close proximity minimising diffusion distance
44
Oxygen carriage in blood
- the diffused O2 attaches to haemoglobin (Hb) molecules within the RBCs - 4O2 molecules attach to 1 Hb molecule
45
oxygen carriage in pulmonary capillaries
- pO2 is important in determining the amount of o2 that binds to Hb - higher po2 the more o2 binds to the Hb - so the Sao2 readings indicate the percentage of available Hb saturated with a gas
46
internal respiration in terms of CO2
- o2 used by the tissues to make ATP produces co2 waste - transfer of co2 from the tissues to the blood is via a pressure gradient - tissue pco2 is 46mmHg while tissue capillary pco2 is 45mmHg - that is a 1mmHg difference to ensure exchange
47
hx of cellular respiration?
- development of an oxygen rich atmosphere on earth gave rise to evolutin of some anaerobic organisms into aerobic organisms - this adaption enabled these organisms to take advantage of the greater energy production potential of aerobic cellular respiration
48
what is energy?
- the capacity to do work, change or move - ATP energy carrying molecule
49
carbohydrate metabolism and ATP
- the metabolism of carbohydrates results in the production of ATP - produced by glycolysis and the krebs cycle within the mitochondria -ATP used as an energy source in muscle contraction, cell membrane transport, and cell divison.
50
cellular respiration (releasing energy)
- occurs in two phases 1. glycolysis: the breakdown of glucose to pyruvic acid 2. the complete oxidation of pyruvic acid to co2 and water= ATP
51
aerobic metabolism
oxygen driven reaction produces high yield of ATP (32-34 molecules)
52
53
anaerobic metabolism
oxygen is absent, lower yield of ATP (2 molecules)
54
What is the significance of ATP production?
- deleterious effect of hypoxia on ATP production 1. nerve conduction 2. muscle contraction 3. cell transport 4. cognitive function/LOC (level of consciousness) - onset hypoxia is rapid due to inability to store oxygen
55
co2 carriage
- co2 carried in 3 different ways within the blood 1. dissolved in plasma (7%) 2. attached to Hb to form carboxyhaemoglobin (23%) 3. as biocarbonate ions reacts with water in RBSs (ribosome binding site) to form carbonic acid, this disssociates to form H+ & biocarbonate (70%).
56
co2 carriage
- the biocarbonate then moves out of the RBC down to a concentration gradient into the plasma - when it reaches the pulmonary capillaries the reaction reverses forming co2 and h20.
57
co2 exhange
- pco2 in pulmonary capillaries is 45mmHg - pco2 in alveoli is 40mmHg - 5mmHg difference - this concentration gradient means co2 will diffuse across the resp membrane into the alveoli to be breathed out.
58
what is the neuro-resp system made up of?
1. control centre: brain (brain stem, medulla, cortex) 2. sensors: includes a variety if mechano and chemo receptors that feedback to central command 3. effectors: resp muscles
59
what body parts are involved with the resp centre?
- fourth ventricle - dorsal resp group - vagus and glossopharyngeal - pneumotaxic centre - aspneustic centre ventral resp group - resp motor pathways
60
what are chemo receptors?
- sense chemical changes in blood - two borad types 1. central: located in medulla 2. peripheral: located in aortic arch and carotid bodies
61
central chemoreceptors
- highly sensitive to changes in pco2 - 85% of ventilatory response
62
peripheral chemoreceptors
- tend to respond to changes in po2, pco2, and H+ - made up of type I cells which synapse with glossopharyngeal nerve - high blood supply which means it can detect changes rapidly
63
sympathetic response: emotional regulation
- epinephrine and norepinephrine cause multiple changes - emotional stimulus will also release these sympathetic neurotransmitters such as fear and threat.

Applied Science and Health Promotion (4 decks)

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