Respiratory System Part 2 Flashcards
What are some examples of factors that affect the respiration rate of a person?
Air quality
Infection- as it will increase the rate
Activity level- more exertion therefore the respiratory rate increases
Emotional state- anxiety could increase the respiratory rate
Age: newborns have a higher respiratory rate as they have a smaller surface area
What are some examples of features that can affect lung health?
Smoking
Diseases: COPD and Asthma which is a chronic inflammatory disorder
Alcohol consumption: Sleep apnea, and alcohol consumption itself can be either a stimulant or suppressant
What are some initiatives being taken that will aim to help improve the air quality?
Electric buses and trains: decrease the carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases production
EV100: make all cars electric- date shifts back as to not rush infrastructure changes and finances
London Ultra Low Emission Zones: encourages public transport- fines £12.50 as when regulations aren’t met and generates money for London City Council
Why do deadlines for majority of the initiatives keep changing?
As to ease any changes to infrastructure, behaviour or industry
What can the respiratory system be divided into?
The upper and lower respiratory system
What are the components of the upper respiratory system?
Nose ,nasal passage ,paranasal sinuses, pharynx and portion of the larynx above the vocal cords
What are the components of the lower respiratory system?
Larynx below the vocal cords, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and lungs
What are the main functions of the respiratory system?
Moves oxygen from the outside environment into the body
Removes carbon dioxide and water from the body
Lungs are the main site of gas exchange
Site of immune system reactions and functions- provides protection
Why do adults have a lower rate of respiration?
As they have a larger surface area to accommodate gas exchange by having a large number of alveoli
What is the mucociliary escalator?
Epithelium with many cilia
Why are cilia important in the respiratory system?
When breathing in, a person breathes in air with pathogens and some get stuck in the cilia “hairs”
The hairs move and so the person will cough up the pathogens with phlegm
How can the mucociliary epithelium be described?
Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium
What is the escalator effect regarding the mucociliary escalator?
The self-cleaning mechanism of the hairs moving the pathogens up as to move to mucus and then cough up
How does asthma affect the respiratory system?
Epithelium is all damaged and so leads to chronic inflammation
The patient will then proceed to cough more
What type of protection do the lungs provide?
Non-specific protection
What are the different types of respiration?
Breathing (water loss), or ventilation which is the exchange of air between the external environment and the alveoli
External respiration, which is the exchange of gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) between inhaled air and the blood
Internal respiration, which is the exchange of gases between the blood and tissue fluid and cells
Cellular respirations (either aerobic or anaerobic), which uses glucose to produce ATP
What other processes is the respiratory system essential for?
Regulation of blood pH, which occurs in co-ordination with the kidneys
Defence against pathogens
Control of body temperature due to loss of evaporate during expiration
What is cellular respiration?
The process by which the energy contained in organic molecules is made available for all of the active processes within a cell
Can be aerobic or anaerobic
What is the usual substrate for cellular respiration ,and can there be any others?
Glucose, however fats, amino acids and other substrates can be used
What is the store that the energy released is in?
ATP
Is oxygen needed for the process of cellular respiration to occur?
No as the process can aerobic or anaerobic
What are the four stages that aerobic respiration can be divided into?
Glycolysis (G)
The Link Reaction (LR)
Kreb’s Cycle (K)
The Electron Transfer Chain (ETC)
Where does glycolysis occur, what happens during this process and what are the conditions?
Occurs in the cytoplasm
Does not require oxygen
Glucose is converted into pyruvic acid
Hydrogen is removed and is passed to the electron carriers
Where does the Link Reaction occur, what happens during this process and what are the conditions?
Occurs in matrix of the mitochondria
Requires oxygen
Pyruvate enters the mitochondrion, is decarboxylated, dehydrogenated and combines with coenzyme A to give acetyl coenzyme A
The hydrogen which is removed is passed to the electron carriers
Where does the Kreb’s Cycle occur, what happens during this process and what are the conditions?
Occurs in matrix of mitochondria
Requires oxygen
Cyclical series of reactions during which hydrogen is passed to the electron carriers, carbon dioxide is removed and the starting reagents are regenerated
Where does the Electron Transfer Chain occur, what happens during this process and what are the conditions?
Occurs in crista of inner membrane of mitochondria
Requires oxygen
The hydrogen from glycolysis and Krebs’ cycle is split to release electrons
These pass through carriers and generate ATP
The hydrogen reforms and combines with oxygen to form water
Could cells with little or no mitochondria be able to aerobically respire?
No
Where is water formed during aerobic respiration and what do we do?
Formed from ETC and is exhaled
Where else in aerobic respiration can ATP be formed?
From pyruvate
What are the overall products of the Kreb’s cycle?
ATP and carbon dioxide
Uses proteins and lipids
What would happen if there was no oxygen?
If oxygen is unavailable the Kreb’s cycle and electron transfer chain cannot operate.
However, even in anaerobic conditions, glycolysis occurs so reduced NAD still forms.
If glycolysis is to continue, the reduced NAD must be reoxidised, that is, the hydrogen must be removed and disposed of.
Anaerobic organisms have developed two ways of doing this
What are some example of anaerobic organisms?
Yeast and some types of bacteria
What happens in yeast during anaerobic respiration?
Pyruvate is decarboxylated to ethanal
Ethanal accepts the hydrogen from NADH to form ethanol, which release the NAD molecule to be re-used in glycolysis
The conversion of pyruvic acid to ethanol with the release of carbon dioxide is called alcoholic fermentation
What happens in mammals during anaerobic respiration?
The pyruvate accepts the hydrogen from NADH and is reduced to lactate
NAD is then available for use in glycolysis
If oxygen later becomes available, the lactate is reoxidised
Since anaerobic respiration only involves glycolysis, only the 2 ATP produced in glycolysis are formed
What does the body do in response to lactate production?
Body tries to gain oxygen to shift to aerobic respiration as lactate is toxic- causes cramps also
Causes an increase in the rate of respiration
Is aerobic respiration or anaerobic respiration more efficient?
Aerobic respiration, as 4 ATP molecules are formed, with a net gain of 2 ATP molecules
What is anaerobic respiration in its simplest form?
Reactants: Glucose
Combustion: Incomplete
Energy yield: Low (2 ATP molecules)
Products: Animals–> lactic acid
Yeast–> ethanol and carbon dioxide
Location: Cytoplasm
Stages: Glycolysis and Fermentation
What is aerobic respiration in its simplest form?
Reactants: Glucose and Oxygen
Combustion: Complete
Energy yield: High (36-38 ATP molecules)
Products: Carbon dioxide and water
Location: Cytoplasm and Mitochondrion
Stages: Glycolysis, Link Reaction, Kreb’s Cycle and Electron Transfer Chain
What occurs if there is no oxygen present?
Hypoxia
Respiration rate increases and breathing quickens so that there is an attempt to find oxygen
What are early signs of hypoxia?
Changes in heart rate
Decreased circulation in the hands or feet
Parts of the body turning blue
Fainting, seeing spots, or unable to think clearly
What is one of the ways that hypoxia can be caused?
Infection
What are the key readings on an oxygen saturation probe that should be accounted for in regards to hypoxia?
94%- worry that oxygen is low
86% or less- brain damage
What are the effects of hypoxia on the brain?
The brain is the most sensitive organ to hypoxia, and so the brain cells are very sensitive to a lack of oxygen
Brain hypoxia can rapidly cause severe brain damage or death
When do brain cells begin to die as a result of hypoxia?
Some brain cells start dying less than 5 minutes after their oxygen supply disappears
What is ischemia?
Insufficient blood flow to provide adequate oxygenation
Can cause tissue hypoxia
Hypoxic carotid arteries can lead to an ischemic stroke
What are the determinants of respiratory health?
Age, sex and hereditary factors
Individual lifestyle factors
Social and community networks
Living and working conditions
General socio-economic, cultural and environmental factors
Childhood infections as they can lead to scarring
What are some of the other factors that affect respiratory health?
Food
Physical factors (such as pollen and pathogens)
How are obesity and the lungs linked together?
Obesity negatively affects the lung mechanics, and leads to more inflammation
Can lead to related co-morbidities, psychological effects and contribute further to sedentary lifestyles
What are some sources of ambient/household air pollution?
Animal dander
Wood fires
Dust mites
What is one of the largest effects of air pollution that can lead to increased deaths?
Smog
What are examples of environmental factors that can lead to reduced respiratory health?
Wetter or drier weather
Wild fires- decreases air quality as of the production of particulate matter and the decreasing number of trees
How are trees linked to respiratory health?
The trees are needed to clean the air and remove the toxic substances
What are examples of cultural environmental factors that affect respiratory health?
Smoking and vaping, as of the inhalation of nicotine
Why are mixed messages hazardous to the public?
The general public becomes more confused on what to believe as such, an ingredient in red wine may fight COPD- however drinking too much can lead to lung disease
What happens to respiration during exercise?
Muscles work harder therefore, there is an increased need of haemoglobin to provide oxygen to respiring cells and tissues- however more carbon dioxide is also being produced
What occurs physiologically during exercise?
Increased breathing and heart rate
After exercise a person will be “out of breath” as they are recovering but will not be “short of breath” where they have no physical capacitance to respire
Can exercise become harmful to the lungs, and if so when and how?
People who follow high-intensity training regimes, or who regularly train in certain environments, may be at risk of developing exercise-induced asthma (due to excessive stress), or a condition known as bronchial hyperresponsiveness in which the airways become blocked after exercise
Believed this is caused by harmful substances in the environment in which they are training
There is a fine line between beneficial and harmful
How can altitude and oxygen be linked?
The higher the altitude, the less oxygen there is available and so it becomes harder to breathe
How can high altitudes affect lung and respiratory function?
Reduced oxygen content of the blood induces breathing instability, with periods of deep and rapid breathing alternating with central apnea
This breathing pattern is called high-altitude periodic breathing (PB)
It occurs even in healthy persons at altitudes above 6000 ft
