Respritory System Flashcards
What is the primary function of the respiratory system?
Delivers O2 to the body and removes CO2
What is the byproduct of ATP production during cellular respiration?
CO2
What is the term for the process of breathing?
Pulmonary respiration
What occurs during inspiration?
Breathing in → lungs
What occurs during expiration?
Lungs → atmosphere
What is external respiration?
Exchange of gases between lungs and blood
Where does external respiration occur?
In the lungs
What gas diffuses from the lungs to the blood?
O2
What gas diffuses from the blood into the lungs?
CO2
How are gases transported in the body?
By the cardiovascular system using blood
Where does internal respiration occur?
At the tissue cells
What gas diffuses from the blood into the tissue cells?
O2
What gas diffuses into the blood from the tissue cells?
CO2
What is the function of the nasal cavity?
Warms and humidifies air as it travels to the lungs
What is the role of hair and mucus in the nose?
Traps microbes and dust
Fill in the blank: The respiratory system delivers _______ to the body and removes CO2.
O2
True or False: Internal respiration occurs in the lungs.
False
What is the pharynx?
The throat, splits into the esophagus and larynx
The pharynx plays a crucial role in both the respiratory and digestive systems.
What is the function of the epiglottis?
Considered a door at the top of the larynx, only open when breathing
The epiglottis prevents food and liquid from entering the airway during swallowing.
What is the larynx commonly known as?
The voice box
It houses the vocal cords and is essential for sound production.
What does the larynx pass air to?
The trachea
The trachea is the main airway that leads to the lungs.
What is the trachea?
The windpipe, passes from the larynx to the lungs
It is supported by rings of cartilage to maintain its structure.
What are the branches of the trachea called?
Bronchi
Each bronchus leads to a lung.
What are alveoli?
Thin-walled air sacs covered by capillaries
They are the primary site of external respiration.
What is the diaphragm?
Dome-shaped muscle that aids in breathing
It contracts to cause inspiration and relaxes to cause expiration.
Fill in the blank: The diaphragm _______ to cause inspiration.
contracts
This contraction increases the volume of the thoracic cavity.
True or False: The epiglottis is closed when breathing.
False
The epiglottis is only closed during swallowing to prevent aspiration.
What process moves gas from high to low concentration in the lungs?
Diffusion
This is the fundamental principle that governs gas exchange in the lungs.
What is the composition of air that enters the alveoli during respiration?
High in O2 and low in CO2
This composition is essential for efficient gas exchange.
What is the composition of blood in the capillaries surrounding the alveoli?
High in CO2 and low in O2
This difference in gas concentration drives diffusion.
What happens to O2 that enters the alveoli?
It diffuses through alveolar membrane into the capillary walls and dissolves into tissue cells
This process is crucial for cellular respiration.
What travels back to the alveoli from tissue cells?
CO2
CO2 is a byproduct of cellular respiration and is exhaled.
What is the role of red blood cells in gas transport?
They carry O2 and CO2
Red blood cells are essential for efficient gas exchange and transport in the bloodstream.
What percentage of O2 dissolves in plasma during transport?
5-12%
The majority of O2 is transported via hemoglobin in red blood cells.
What is the primary molecule that O2 binds to in red blood cells?
Hemoglobin
Hemoglobin contains iron, which binds to oxygen.
How many iron atoms does each hemoglobin molecule contain?
4
Each iron atom can bind to one molecule of oxygen.
How many hemoglobin molecules are present in each red blood cell?
250 million
This allows each red blood cell to carry nearly 1 billion oxygen molecules.
What happens when oxygenated blood arrives at tissue cells?
Oxygen is released from hemoglobin and diffuses into surrounding cells
This process is vital for cellular metabolism.
What is the primary direction of CO2 diffusion?
From tissue cells to blood
This occurs because the concentration of CO2 is higher in the tissue cells than in the blood.
What percentage of CO2 dissolves into plasma?
7%
This is one of the ways CO2 is transported from tissue cells to the lungs.
What percentage of CO2 binds to hemoglobin?
23%
Hemoglobin carries CO2 in the blood back to the lungs.
What is the main reaction that converts CO2 in the blood?
CO2 reacts with water to form bicarbonate ions (HCO3-)
This accounts for 70% of CO2 transport in the blood.
What happens to bicarbonate ions when they reach the lungs?
They turn into water and CO2
This process allows CO2 to be exhaled into the atmosphere.
Fill in the blank: The transport sequence of CO2 is ______ → lungs, alveoli → blood stream → tissue cells.
Atmosphere
Fill in the blank: The overall transport of CO2 can be summarized as ______ → blood → alveoli (Lungs) → exhalation.
Tissue cells
