Structure and Function of the Respiratory System Flashcards
What is pulmonary ventilation?
The way in which action potentials send from the brain stem and stimulate the respiratory muscles as part of the breathing process
Facilitates the movement of air into or out of the lungs
What is inspiration?
The process of taking air into the lungs
What happens to the lungs’ volume during inspiration and why?
Increases due to respiratory muscle contraction
What happens to the pressure in the lungs during inspiration?
Decreases - air may flow into the lungs down its pressure gradient
What is expiration?
The process of letting air out of the lungs
What decreases lung volume during expiration?
Muscle relaxation
What happens to the pressure in the lungs during expiration?
Increases
How is breathing measured?
Changes in lung volume over time (flow)
What factors make up how we breathe?
Depth
Frequency
What is external respiration?
Exchange of gases with the external environment
Where does external respiration occur?
Alveoli of the lungs
What is cellular respiration?
Mitochondria using oxygen to form ATP - fuelling the production of metabolic by-products
What is internal respiration?
The process in which the cells receive oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide - gas exchange via the interstitial fluid
Who coined the term homeostasis?
W.B. Cannon
Name some regulated variables in the respiratory system.
O2
CO2
pH
