Respiratory System

Lecture 5
 Functions of the Respiratory System
1. Provide an extensive surface area for gas exchange between air and the
circulating blood.
2. Moving air to and from the exchange surfaces of the lungs along the
respiratory passageways.
3. Protecting respiratory surfaces from dehydration, temperature changes, or
other environmental variations, and defending the respiratory system and
other tissues from invasion by pathogens.
4. Producing sounds involved in speaking, singing, and other forms of
communication.
5. Facilitating the detection of olfactory stimuli by olfactory receptors in the
superior portions of the nasal cavity.
 What is Respiration?
Respiration = exchange of gases (most importantly O2 and CO2)
between the atmosphere, lungs, blood, and tissues
3 Basic Components of Respiration:
1- Pulmonary Ventilation, aka breathing = moving air in and out of
respiratory tract; exchange between atmosphere and lungs
2- External Respiration = exchange of gases between lungs and
blood; O2 from lungs to blood and CO2 from blood to lungs.
3- Internal Respiration = exchange of gases between blood and
❑tissues; O2 from blood to tissues and CO2 from tissues to blood
Major Respiratory Structures
 Conducting and Respiratory Zones

❖ Conducting Zone: structures that ONLY transport air and DO

NOT function in gas exchange. E.g. Nose to terminal bronchioles
❖ Respiratory Zone: structures are designed for gas exchange.
E.g. Respiratory bronchioles and alveoli
 Conducting Zone
1-External Nose
Surface and skeletal structures that
result in outward appearance.
• Root = between eyebrows
• Bridge = connects root to rest of nose
• Dorsum nasi = length of nose; formed
from septal cartilage (hyaline)
• Apex = tip of nose
• Ala = cartilaginous structure that
forms lateral naris
(plural = nares), or nostril openings
•
 2-Internal Nose (Nasal Cavity)
❖ Nasal septum – formed anteriorly by septal cartilage and posteriorly by the perpendicular plate of
ethmoid bone and vomer bones
❖ Upper, middle, and lower conchae – increase surface area and disrupt air flow causing turbulence
against nasal epithelium, cleaning, warming, and moisturizing the air
❖ Conchae and meatuses (spaces between conchae) also conserve water and prevent dehydration of
nasal epithelium by trapping exhaled water
❖ Hard palate (anteriorly) and soft palate (posteriorly) – form floor of cavity Lined with respiratory
epithelium – pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelial tissue with goblet cells (produce mucus to
trap debris).
 3- Paranasal Sinuses
Spaces within bones forming
walls of nasal cavity; named
for associated bones:
➢ Frontal sinus, maxillary
sinus, sphenoidal sinus,
ethmoidal sinus.
➢ Sinuses produce mucus
and lighten weight of skull
4-Pharynx
5-Larynx
6-Trachea
➢ Tough flexible tube connecting
larynx to bronchi of lungs
➢ 16-20 stacked, C-shaped hyaline
cartilage rings connected by
dense connective tissue keep
airway open.
7- Bronchial Tree
➢ Highly branching pattern of bronchi and bronchioles
as
they approach and travel through the lungs.
➢ Rings of cartilage provide support and prevent
collapse
➢ Primary bronchi – trachea branches to form a right
and left primary bronchus
➢ Secondary bronchi – right primary bronchus
branches to form three secondary bronchi; left
primary bronchus branches to form two
secondary bronchi
➢ Tertiary bronchi – each secondary bronchus
branches to form tertiary bronchi
➢ Terminal bronchioles are the LAST branch of the
conducting zone
 Respiratory Zone
Gas exchange occurs
➢ Respiratory bronchiole –
smallest
Bronchioles lead to alveolar
duct which opens to cluster
of alveoli
➢ Alveoli – small, grape-like
sacs at ends of alveolar
ducts.
➢ Responsible for gas
exchange.
 Lungs
➢ Pyramid-shaped, paired organs connected to
trachea by right and left bronchi bordered
inferiorly by the diaphragm – a
dome-shaped muscle at the base of the
thoracic cavity?
➢ Right lung – composed of three lobes:
superior, middle and inferior lobe
➢ Horizontal fissure divides superior from
middle lobe and the oblique fissure
divides middle lobe from the inferior lobe
➢ Left lung – composed of two lobes: superior
and inferior lobe divided by the oblique
fissure
➢ Cardiac notch –allows space for the heart.
Pleura
Parietal pleura: serous membrane lining
the interior of the thoracic cavity,
including the diaphragm.
 The Process of Breathing
➢ Pulmonary ventilation is driven by pressure changes
within the pleural cavities.
v Pressures to consider:
➢ Atmospheric pressure (Patm): force exerted by the
mixture of air surrounding the body. At sea level = 760
mmHg (1 atm).
➢ Alveolar pressure, aka intrapulmonary pressure (Ppul):
pressure exerted by air within alveoli of lungs.
➢ Changes with ventilation; always equalizes with Patm
➢ Intrapleural pressure (Pip): pressure within pleural
cavity. It always ~4 mmHg lower than Ppul
➢ Boyle’s Law: volume of gas is inversely proportional to
pressure of gas. Volume increases = Pressure decreases
AND Volume decreases = Pressure increases.
➢ Respiratory muscles alter volume of thoracic cavity (BOYLE’S LAW)
Inspiratory muscles:
➢ Diaphragm = flattens and lowers as it contracts; height of thoracic
cavity increases • ~75% of air movement at rest
➢ Primary = external intercostals contract; elevates and expands ribs •
~25% of air movement at rest
➢ Accessory = sternum muscles, pectoralis minor.
Expiratory muscles
➢ Diaphragm and external intercostals relax
➢ Exhalation is passive; elastic recoil of lungs reduces volume.
➢ Accessory = internal intercostals, abdominal muscles (forcible
exhalation)
➢ Air flows down a pressure gradient
➢ Inspiration: Ppul = 758 mmHg → air is sucked into lungs
➢ Expiration: Ppul = 762 mmHg → air is pushed out of lungs
 Factors Affecting Pulmonary Ventilation
Resistance to air flow:
➢ Dependent largely upon diameter of airways
• Bronchoconstriction = ↑ resistance
• Bronchodilation = ↓ resistance
➢ Surface tension
• Water molecules are attracted to each other (cohesion)
• Pulmonary surfactant reduces surface tension so alveoli don’t
collapse.
➢ Compliance of thoracic walls
• Refers to the tension in the chest walls, which is an indication of their
ability to stretch and recoil
• Lungs move with chest walls due to adhesive nature of pleural fluid, so
compliance of muscular walls increases or decreases ease of air flow
 Respiratory Rate
➢ Respiratory system makes
adjustments to ventilation to
meet oxygen demand.
➢ Regulated by multiple areas in
brain that signal muscles used in
ventilation to contract.
➢ Respiratory Rate: number of
breaths per minute.
• Normal adult = 12-18 breaths per
min
• Child = 18-20 breaths per min
• Infant = 30-60 breaths per min
 Gas Exchange
Diffusion of gases depends on partial pressure and solubility of gases.
➢ Partial pressure (P) = the pressure contributed by a single gas in a
mixture of gases
• Ex: O2 ~21% of atmospheric gas; 21% of 760 mmHg = 160 mmHg
• • Boyle’s Law: volume of a gas is inversely proportional to its pressure
• V↑, P↓ and V↓, P↑
• Henry’s Law: At a constant temperature, concentration of a gas in
solution is directly
proportional to partial pressure of that gas.
• P↑=Concentration ↑
• Solubility of O2 in blood is proportional to P of O2 in alveolar air
• Dalton’s Law: Total pressure of a gas = sum of partial pressures of all
gases in a mixture.
• Relative concentrations of gases do not change as V or P changes.
• Concentrations of gases are equal in inhaled air and atmospheric air.
Partial pressures and solubility of gases affects gas exchange in both
external and internal respiration:
➢ External respiration (exchange of gases between lungs and blood-
across respiratory membrane)
• In lungs, PO2 is high and PCO2 is low
• In deoxygenated blood, PCO2 is high and PO2 is low
• O2 is forced into blood, and CO2 is forced into lungs
➢ Internal respiration (exchange of gases between blood and tissues-
across capillary membranes)
• In oxygenated blood, PO2 is high and PCO2 is low
• In tissues, PO2 is low and PCO2 is high
• O2 is forced out of blood into tissues, and CO2 is forced out of tissues
into blood.
 Transport of Gases: Oxygen
Oxygen Transport
➢ 98-99% of O2 in blood is bound to hemoglobin in RBCs
• Hemoglobin + oxygen = oxyhemoglobin. Remaining 1-
2% dissolved in blood plasma (poorly water-soluble).
➢ Hemoglobin Saturation = percent of total heme units
bound to O2 • Normal = 95-99%
Factors affecting hemoglobin saturation:
• PO2: higher PO2 = increased hemoglobin saturation
• PCO2: higher PCO2 = decreased hemoglobin saturation
• pH: lower pH (more acidic) = decreased hemoglobin
saturation
• Temperature: increased temp = decreased hemoglobin
saturation
• These factors affect hemoglobin’s O2 binding affinity,
which influences the loading and unloading of O2.
 Transport of Gases: Carbon Dioxide
Carbon Dioxide Transport
➢ Approximately 7-10% is
dissolved in blood plasma
➢ ~90% of CO2 from the
bloodstream diffuses into
RBCs
➢ ~20% binds to globular
proteins of hemoglobin
➢ Hemoglobin + carbon dioxide
= carbaminohemoglobin
➢ ~70% is converted to
carbonic acid by carbonic
anhydrase
 Modifications in Respiratory Functions
Hyperpnea: increased depth and rate of ventilation to meet increase demand,
as in exercise or disease
• Does not significantly alter blood O2 or CO2 levels (contrast with
hyperventilation)
Hyperventilation: increased ventilation rate NOT associated with increased
demand for oxygen
• Leads to abnormally low blood CO2 and increased blood pH.
High Altitude Effects
➢ Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), aka altitude sickness: results from acute
exposure to high altitudes, where PO2 is lower.
• Symptoms include headache, nausea, fatigue, but can worsen
• Acclimatization: process of adjustment to high altitude with chronic
exposure