The Respiratory System Flashcards
List major structures which air/oxygen passes through during respiration.
- Oral Cavity/Nasal Cavity - filters, humifies, moistens
- Pharynx - passageway for food and air
- Larynx
- Voice box w/ 2 vocal cords
- Passageway for air ONLY(gets covered by epiglottis when a person is swallowing food/drink)
- Sits below pharynx and in front of esophagus
- Glottis - opening of the larynx
- Trachea - Passagway for air ONLY, directs air to lungs
- Bronchi
- Bronchioles
- Alveoli (major structure of gas exchange)
- Surrounded by a network of capillaries for O2 and CO2 gas exchange
Major purposes of oral and nasal cavity
- Filter (nasal cavity: goblet cell secete mucous trap small particles and vibrissae trap larger particles)
- Humifies/Moistens (mucous from goblet cells provide moisture)
- Warms Air (capillaries)
Detergent that lowers surface tension and prevents alveoli from collapsing.
Surfactant
Structures and function of Pleural Cavity.
Function: Protects lungs from injury and forms closed sacs on which lungs expand. Also indirectly connects lungs to chest wall, preventing them from collapsing during exhalation (like surfactant for alveoli)
- Visceral Pleura - lines lung
- Parietal Pleura - lines chest wall
- Intrapleural Space
- B/t 2 membranes and contain a thin layer of fluid
- Lubricates pleural surfaces
Explain Process of Inhalation.
- External Intercostal muscles (lie between ribs) expand and diaphragm (thin muscular structure that divides thoracic cavity) flattens
- Together this increases intrathoracic volume
- Intrapleural space increases in volume first - causes decreases in pressure
- Lungs expand into intrapleural space - causes decrease in pressure.
- Because air likes to move down its pressure gradient, air is sucked fom higher pressure environment to lower pressured lungs
Tendency for air to rush into your lungs. due to it’s relative lower pressure compared to the atmosphere. (during inhalation)
Negative Pressured Breathing
Active portion of breathing.
Inhalation
Passive portion of breathing.
Exhalation
Explain process of exhalation
- External Intercostal muscles and diaphragm relax
- Intrapleural space then lungs decrease in volume - causing both to increase in pressure
- Air moves from now higher pressure thoracic cavity to lower pressured environmet (relative to thoracic cavity)
Muscles used during forced (active) exhalation
- Internal Intercostals
- Abdominal muscles
(Together oppose external intercostals and pulls rib cage down, decreasing volume of thoracic cavity).
Measures lung volume and capacity.
spirometer
TLC (Total lung Capacity)
Maximum volume of air in lungs during inhalation.
Residual Volume
Minimum volume of air in lungs during exhalation.
Vital Capacity
Different between TLC and RV
Tidal Volume
Volume of air exhaled/inhaled during a normal breath.
ERV (Expiratory Reserve Volume)
Volume of additional air that can be forcibly exhaled after normal exhalation.
Inspiratory Reserve Volume (IRV)
Volume of additional air that can be forcibly inhaled after a normal inhalation.
Ventillation center that regulates ventilation.
Medulla Oblongata
How does the medulla oblongata regulate ventillation?
Chemoreceptors in neurons of medulla oblongata
These are highly sensitive to CO2 and only sensitive to O2 during significant Hypoxemia
What happens to the respiratory rate when CO2 increases?
RR increases so that CO2 is exhaled and CO2 levels in the blood fall.
These chemoreceptors are located in the carotid arteries and aorta.
Peripheral chemoreceptors
Also monitor blood CO2 levels and increase RR when they become too high. The also mainly monitor oxygen concentration and PH.
Hypercapnia/Hypercerbia
When pp of CO2 rises in the blood.
What can hypoventillation lead to and how does our body response.
- High levels of CO2
- Rapid RR
What can hyperventillation lead.
Reduced levels are CO2
List major functions of the Respiratory System.
- Gas Exchange
- Thermoregulation
- Immune Function
- PH Regulation
How are the lungs able to control thermoregulation?
Because the respiratory system is highly vascularized (i.e. capillaries within nose and trachea), it regulate thermoregulation via vasoconstriction and vasodialation.
Respiratory system can also transfer heat to the enviroment during evaporation of ______ in _______ secretiosns.
- H20
- Mucous
Major components involved in immune function of respiratory tract.
- Lysozyme
- Mucociliary Elevator
- Macrophages
- Mast Cells
enzyme found in nasal cavity, tears, and saliva that attacks peptidoglican walls of gram positive bacteria.
Lysozome
Engulf and digest pathogens. Signal the rest of the immune system that there is an invader.
Macrophage
Cells that populate the lungs, have preformed antibodies on their surface, and release inflammatory chemicals that induce an immune response when it comes into contact with triggering substances.
Mast Cells
Equation for bicarbonate buffer system.
Optimal pH range for human body
7.35-7.45
What happens when the blood pH is low and hydrogen ion concentration increases?
- BBS equation shifs to the left, increasing CO2 concentration
- This will increase RR and cause excess CO2 be exhaled, raising the blood pH
- As more CO2 is exhaled, this will, agaim shift the equation to the left
- This shift to the left will cause H+ ion in the blood to decrease (because of formation of H2O on the left side of the equation)
What happens when the blood pH is high and CO2 concentration increases?
- RR is slowed to allow for accumulation of CO2
- This shifts the equation to the Right, allowing for H+ and bicarbonate ion concentrations to increase (thereby increasing decreasing pH of the blood)
Why can’t a spirometer measure total lung capacity? What can it measure?
- it cannot measure residual volume, which is one of the two components of total lung capacty (in addition to vital capacity)
- spirometer can measure vital capacity
