Respiratory System Flashcards
The two systems that supply oxygen to cells and eliminate CO2 from the body are
the respiratory and cardiovascular systems
Failure of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems will result in
death
What are the different parts of the respiratory system?
nose pharynx larynx trachea bronchial tree lungs
Each portion of the nose is lined composed of
cartilage and skin and lined with mucous membrane
Openings of the nose are the
external nares (nostrils)
The nares lead into the
nasal cavity
The nasal cavity is divided into 2 compartments by the
nasal septum
The anterior portion of the nasal cavity is called the
vestibules
What do turbinates do?
create turbulence
What are the functions of the nose?
smell
filter the air
warm and humidify the air
what is the pharynx?
a muscular tube that is lined with a mucous membrane
What are the three parts of the pharynx?
nasopharynx
oropharynx
laryngopharynx
What is the Eustachian tube?
connects nasopharynx to the middle ear
What is the function of the Eustachian tube?
to moderate or maintain pressure
What is the larynx?
The voice box that connects the pharynx with the tracea
What is the larynx made of
cartilage
what is the thyroid cartilage?
the adam’s apple
what is the function of thyroid cartilage?
none
what is cricoid cartilage?
reference point to where a tracheotomy can occur
what is arytenoid cartilage?
aids the epiglottis in protection
what is the epiglottis?
keeps you from choking by closing the larynx
The larynx contains two sets of mucous membranes called
true vocal cords
false vocal cords
what are true vocal cords?
vibrate and produce the voice
what are false vocal cords
lie superior to the true vocals and offer protection to them
what is laryngitis?
inflammation of the vocal cords
Men’s vocal cords are
larger so they vibrate at a lower frequency
What is the trachea?
structure that extends from the larynx to the primary bronchi
what composes the trachea?
smooth muscle and hyaline cartilage rings
what lines the trachea?
pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium
what is the function of the trachea?
movement
The trachea will divide into
a right and left primary bronchi
At the point where the trachea divides there is a structure called
a carnia
the carnia has
very sensitive areas that can trigger a cough reflex
the bronchial tree consists of
trachea primary bronchi secondary bronchi tertiary bronchi bronchioles terminal bronchioles
The inferior portion of the trachea divides into a
right primary bronchus that leads into the right lung and a left primary bronchus that leads into the left lung.
the primary bronchi divide into the
secondary bronchi
the secondary bronchi divides into the
tertiary bronchi
that tertiary bronchi divide into
smaller tubes called the bronchioles
bronchioles divide into
smaller tubes called the terminal bronchioles
terminal bronchioles divide into
respiratory bronchioles
respiratory bronchioles lead into
the alveolar ducts
The terminal bronchioles are the first section of
smooth muscle instead of hyaline cartilage
Asthma attacks occur at
terminal bronchioles and lower because the smooth muscle contracts and there is no hyaline cartilage to keep the bronchioles open.
what is the treatment for an asthma attack?
epinephrine to relax the muscles and open the airways
Lungs are composed of
alveolar ducts
alveolar sacs
alveoli
Lungs have _________ on the left side
3 lobes
Lungs have _________ on the right side.
2 lobes
What is the function of the pleural membrane?
to enclose and protect the lungs
what are the two parts of the pleural membrane?
visceral pleura
parietal pleura
what is the parietal pleura?
outer layer that is attached to the wall of the thoracic cavity
what is the visceral pleura?
the inner layer that covers the lungs
what is the pleural cavity?
small space that contains a lubricating fluid that is secreted by membranes
What is the function of the fluid in the pleural cavity?
lubrication
what is pleurisy?
pleural inflammation
what is pleural effusion?
fluid accumulation from infection or cancer
what is a pneumothorax?
parietal pleura and visceral pleura are detached from one another and portion of the pleural cavity fills with air
To form the lungs, the alveolar ducts lead into grape clusters called
alveolar sacs
what makes up the alveolar sacs?
alveoli
what is the upper respiratory tract?
above the larynx
what is the lower respiratory tract?
below the larynx
what is the conducting airway?
starts with primary bronchi and ends at terminal bronchi
what is the respiratory airway?
starts with the respiratory bronchioles and ends at the alveoli
what are alveolar macrophages?
cells that wonder and remove dust and debris
What happens to the old and dead macrophages?
they are swept up by the ciliary currents of the superior portions of the respiratory tree and carried to the pharynx
what are septal cells?
type II pneumocytes
where are type II pneumocytes found?
alveoli
type II pneumocytes produce
surfactant
what is surfactant?
prohibits the internal lung surfaces from sticking to eachother
what is hyaline membrane disease?
respiratory distress syndrome
who is affected by hyaline membrane disease?
newborns
why does hyaline membrane disease occur?
not enough surfactant has been produced and the internal portion of the alveolar walls adhere.
What is the treatment for hyaline membrane disease?
injection of cortisol to the mother to stimulate surfactant production in the fetus
what are type I pneumocytes?
cells where actual gas exchange occurs diffusion
There are ______ in the walls of the alveoli
elastic fibers
what is the function of the elastic fibers?
allows for recoil
Alveoli sacs are surrounded by
a network of capillaries
what keeps the lungs from collapsing?
surfactant
The passage of O2 from the lungs and CO2 from the blood happens at what level?
alveoli across the respiratory membrane
what is the respiratory membrane?
membrane composed of the alveolus wall plus the wall of the capillary
How does gas exchange occur?
simple diffusion
what is hyaline membrane disease?
lack of surfactant
what are the layers of the respiratory membrane?
surfactant type I pneumocytes basement membrane interstitial space basement membrane endothelium
what are the three processes of respiration?
pulmonary ventilation
external respiration
internal respiration
what is pulmonary ventilation?
breathing.
what does pulmonary ventilation consist of?
inspiration
expiration
what is inspiration?
inhalation. The process of bringing air into the lungs
what are the steps of inspiration?
diaphragm and ribs move out, volume gets bigger. Pressure is going down. Parietal pleura pulls on the visceral pleura. When this happens, the alveoli open up and their volume also increases. Air goes in
what is expiration?
exhalation. The movement of air out of the lungs.
What are the steps of expiration?
Diaphragm relaxes and moves up. External intercostals move in. Parietal pleura unsticks. Volume goes down. Pressure goes up in the cavity, body exhales. Elastic fibers recoil.
During passive breathing,
the external intercostals relax bringing the ribs down
Passive breathing is what occurs
normally and does not involve muscle contraction.
Passive breathing results from
elastic recoil of the elastic fibers of the lungs.
During exertion ________ occurs
active breathing.
what is active breathing?
allows more air into the lungs.
What are the steps of active breathing?
internal intercostals contract pulling the ribs down. Abdominal muscles are also contracting.
Active breathing makes the
thorax smaller causing you to exhale easily. This makes you able to inhale more air.
Respiration follows
Boyles Law
what is boyles law?
the pressure of gas in a closed container is inversely proportionate to the volume of the container.
When volume increases
pressure decreases
when volume decreases
pressure increases.
what is the normal respiratory rate?
16 to 20 bpm
what is tidal volume?
one breath in and out moves 500 mL
what is inspiratory reserve volume?
3000 mL. Amount of air you can breath in forcibly above tidal volume
what is expired reserve volume?
1100 mL. what you can forcibly exhale above tidal volume.
what is residual volume?
1200 mL. The amount of air left in the lungs after expired reserve volume
At birth, when the lungs first fill with air,
oxygen will begin to diffuse from the alveoli into the blood. It diffuses from the blood into the interstitial fluid.
Carbon dioxide will
move in the opposite direction from the cells into the interstitial fluid into the blood to the lungs and across the respiratory membrane into the alveoli and expired out.
Each gas follows its own
pressure gradient.
The movement of the two gases follow
daltons law
what is daltons law?
each gas in a mixture exerts its own pressure as if all gases were not present
what is partial pressure?
the pressure of a specific gas in a mixture noted by pO2 and pCO2
what is external respiration?
exchange of O2 and CO2 between air in the alveoli and blood in the capillaries
what is internal respiration?
exchange of O2 and CO2 between the blood and the cells
What is the movement during internal respiration?
Oxygen moves into the tissue, CO2 moves into the blood
How much oxygen is dissolved in the plasma?
very little
Where is most oxygen during transport?
hemoglobin of the RBCs
Oxygen is transported as
oxyhemoglobin
What is hemoglobin?
A molecule that is composed of a protein called globin and a pigment portion called heme.
Each HEME contains
4 atoms of iron
Each iron contains
one oxygen molecule
Under normal conditions, arterial blood is
98% saturated with oxygen
Exertion will stimulate
more oxygen to unload from hemoglobin molecules to meet demands of active tissues.
When there is an increase in temperature and an increase in PCO2 as a result of exertion,
there will be an increase in the amount of oxygen unloaded to the tissue
What is fetal hemoglobin?
Main O2 transport protein in the human fetus during the last 7 months of development in the uterus
Fetal hemoglobin persists in the newborn until
about 6 months old.
How does fetal hemoglobin differ from adult hemoglobin?
it binds to oxygen with a greater affinity than the adult form giving the fetus better access to oxygen from the mothers bloodstream
What is carbon monoxide?
colorless, odorless gas found in the exhaust of cars and tobacco smoke as well as being a by product of coal burning, gas burning and wood burning.
How does carbon monoxide work?
it attaches to the heme group in Hb just as O2 does
rosa parks
Carbon monoxides binding
is much stronger than that of oxygen
High levels of carbon monoxide result in
a decreased level of oxygen to the cells and can lead to death
Carbon monoxide competes
with oxygen for binding sites
What is the 1st way CO2 is transported?
Dissolved CO2: 7% is dissolved in plasma. When it reaches the lungs, it diffuses into the alveoli
What is the second way CO2 is transported?
23% combines with the globin in Hb. Since this occurs on a different binding site than oxygen, there is no competition with O2
What is the third way CO2 is transported?
70% of CO2 from the cells is transferred as a bicarbonate ion in the plasma.
What is the first of the chemical reactions that occur with CO2 transport?
CO2 enters the RBC combines with H2O and in the prescence of carbonic anhydrase becomes carbonic acid (H2CO3).
When H2CO3 becomes unstable,
it breaks down into H+ and HCO3-.
The H+ combines with
hemoglobin molecules
The HCO3-
diffuses into the plasma where it will be carried into the lungs
To balance the increase in negative charges that occurs when HCO3- leaves the RBC,
the chloride shift occurs
what is the chloride shift?
an influx of Cl- enters the RBC from the plasma.
When the blood reaches the lungs,
the process is reversed.
Where does the respiratory center exist?
within the medulla oblongata and the pons of the brain
The medulla is the area that
will receive information from the body regarding the need for O2 and respond
The medulla establishes
the initial action potentials that control breathing.
In the normal state, impulses
spontaneously fire in the medulla and travel to the muscles of inspiration
Impulses reach the diaphragm by the
phrenic nerves and the external intercostals by the intercostal nerves and inspiration occurs.
What is apnea?
the absence of breathing
What happens when CO2 levels rise too high in the blood?
the inspiratory center is stimulated and breathing isresumed involuntary.
What is the function of the pons?
to influence and modify breathing and to control the transition between inhaling and exhaling.
How does temperature influence the rate of respiration?
increased temperature will increase the rate of respiration.
How does pain influence the rate of respiration?
prolonged pain will increase the rate of respiration while a sudden pain may cause apnea
In an unconscious patient,
pain can be used to stimulate breathing.
What is emphysema?
long term disease where the alveolar walls disintegrate producing large sacs in which air remains even when exhaling.
Why does emphysema occur?
destruction of the elastic fibers. With less surface area for gas exchange, there is a reduction of O2 diffusion and a build up of CO2 in the blood.
Why is exhaling difficult with emphysema?
constantly inflated alveoli causes a barrel shaped chest
What carcinogens will cause emphysema?
cigarette smoking and industrial dust
What is lung cancer?.
bronchogenic carcinoma that starts in the walls of the bronchi
How do carcinogens affect lung cancer?
constant irritation of smoke and pollutants causes changes in epithelial and goblet cells.
Can epithelium return to a healthy state?
some believe that if the irritant is removed at the early stages of histological changes
With continued stress to the epithelium,
a tumor may form and spread throughout the lungs blocking bronchial tubes
The occurrence of lung cancer is
20 times greater in smokers than in nonsmokers
ACHOO:
causes people to sneeze when they look at the sun. A genetic disorder
What are the two main types of sleep apnea?
obstructive sleep apnea
central sleep apnea
What is obstructive sleep apnea?
caused by an obstruction in the airway during sleep
What are some common obstructions?
tongue and throat muscles
obesity
How do tongue and throat muscles cause obstructions?
muscles may relax excessively causing muscles to push into the airway
How does obesity affect sleep apnea?
excess adipose tissue in the neck region can push the soft tissues toward the lumen in the airway causing the trachea to narrow
what is central sleep apnea?
respiratory centers do not respond to rising CO2 levels and do not stimulate contraction of the diaphragm and intercostals regularly.
What is the result of central sleep apnea?
Inspiration does not occur and breathing stops
What is the cause of central sleep apnea?
unknown but possibly an injury to the medulla or the pons
What is the treatment for sleep apnea?
continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine
What are some lifestyle changes that help with sleep apnea?
weight loss, eliminating alcohol and drugs, changes in sleep positions.
What treatment is specific for central sleep apnea?
supplemental oxygen during sleep.
