Respiratory System Overview

Respiratory System Overview

• The respiratory system facilitates gas exchange, enabling oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide removal.
• Objectives include understanding respiration, identifying respiratory system organization and functions, using asthma as a homeostatic imbalance example, and understanding respiratory membrane components, lung properties, breathing mechanics, and modified breathing.
• Respiration includes cellular respiration and external/internal respiration.
• The processes of respiration involve exchanging air, oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and bloodstream, transporting gases via the blood, and exchanging gases between blood and bodily cells.

Respiration

• The exchange of air between the atmosphere and lungs (Breathing).
• Gas exchange between lungs and blood.
• Transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide by the blood.
• An exchange of gases between blood and cells.

Objectives

• Discuss respiration.
• Comprehend the functional structure of the respiratory system.
• Identify components of the respiratory system.
• Detail how asthma demonstrates homeostasis imbalance.
• Identify components of the respiratory membrane.
• Understand the physical properties of the lungs.
• Discuss mechanics of breathing.
• Discuss modified breathing movements.

Cellular Respiration - External & Internal Respiration

• Cellular respiration involves the breakdown of glucose to produce ATP in mitochondria.
• External respiration is the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and blood.
• Internal respiration is the exchange of gases between the blood and the body's tissues.

Respiratory Structures

• The respiratory system comprises the nose, nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveolar ducts, and alveoli.
• The nose filters, warms, and moistens air.
• The pharynx serves as a passageway for both air and food.
• The larynx protects the airway and produces sound.
• The trachea is a rigid tube connecting the larynx to bronchi.
• Bronchi branch into bronchioles, decreasing in size.
• Alveoli are tiny air sacs where gas exchange occurs.
• The carina is a ridge within the trachea, where the trachea divides into primary bronchi.

Functions of the Larynx

• Passageway for air
• Prevention of materials entering the respiratory tract (epiglottis).
• Sound production (vocal cords).

Journey of Air through the Respiratory System

• Air enters the nasal cavity, warming, filtering, and humidifying.
• It passes through the pharynx (Nasopharynx, Oropharynx, Laryngopharynx), a common passageway for food and air.
• The air then moves to the larynx, which has a role in speech sound production.
• Air travels through the trachea, before branching into bronchi, bronchioles, alveolar ducts, and alveoli.

Bronchioles

• They are tubes lacking cartilage.
• A smooth muscle layer enables bronchoconstriction and bronchodilation.
• These actions regulate air flow to the alveoli.

Respiratory Zone

• Gas exchange occurs in the respiratory zone, comprised of respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts, and alveoli.

Alveoli

• Tiny air sacs.
• Alveolar type I cells lining the alveoli are critical in gas exchange.
• Alveolar type II secretes surfactant to prevent alveolar collapse.
• Alveolar macrophages phagocytose foreign particles.

Respiratory Membrane

• The respiratory membrane includes alveolar epithelium, capillary endothelium, and a fused basement membrane.
• Oxygen diffuses from alveoli to blood capillaries, and carbon dioxide moves the opposite way.

Asthma

• A chronic respiratory disease involving airway inflammation, edema, and bronchospasms.
• Excessive mucus secretion exacerbates airway occlusion.
• Immune cells (eosinophils and mononuclear cells) can infiltrate bronchi and bronchioles during an asthma attack.
• Asthma triggers include environmental factors (dust, pollen, pet dander, mold, tobacco smoke), respiratory infections, and stress or exercise.
• An asthma attack leads to bronchoconstriction, swollen submucosa, and excessive mucus production.

Physical Properties of the Lungs

• Compliance: describes the ease with which the lungs expand.
• Elasticity: the ability of the lungs to return to their resting volumes after stretching.

Mechanics of Inspiration and Expiration

• Air movement depends on pressure differences.
• Inhaling increases lung volume, decreasing pressure, drawing air in.
• Exhaling reduces lung volume, increasing pressure, forcing air out.
• Thoracic volume changes create pressure differences enabling breathing.

Modified Breathing Movements

• Crying involves short, convulsive exhalations.
• Laughing has a similar pattern but with different rhythms.
• Other modified movements include yawning and sighing.

Smoking and the Lungs

• Smoking damages lung tissue, potentially causing emphysema.
• Emphysema is an irreversible lung condition.
• Treatment for emphysema includes quitting smoking, bronchodilators, and supplemental oxygen.

Explore the intricate workings of the respiratory system. This quiz covers key concepts such as gas exchange, lung functions, and the mechanics of breathing, alongside homeostatic imbalances like asthma. Test your knowledge of respiration processes and the role of the respiratory membrane.