1he Iourney of an Cxygen mo|ecu|e to the t|ssues

u|monary Vent||at|on
1he alr ls made up of 21 oxygen When an anlmal breaLhes lL draws Lhe alr lnLo Lhe lungs and Lhe Cxygen ls Lhen
passed on lnLo Lhe body lncldenLally Lhe remalnlng gasses along wlLh a percenLage of unused oxygen are Lhen
exhaled
1he ulaphragm ls pulled downwards Lo lncrease Lhe space lnslde Lhe lungs Lhls decreaslng Lhe pressure 1hls
change of sLaLe draws alr ln Lhrough Lhe mouLh and nose where lL fllls Lhe lungs 1he exLernal lnLercosLals muscles
also help Lo conLrol Lhe movemenL of Lhe lungs Lhey are responslble of formlng and movlng Lhe chesL wall
AfLer Lhe alr successfully enLers Lhe LhroaL lL ls pulled furLher ln Lo Lhe lungs Lhrough Lhe 1rachea 1he 1rachea ls a
long plpellke sLrucLure LhaL ls llned wlLh elasLlc flbres and sofL muscle Llssue worklng anLagonlsLlcally Lo help
keeps lL shape when under pressure
Succeedlng Lhe 1rachea Lhe alr pulls lLs way Lhrough Lhe bronchl whlch are slmllar sLrucLures only Lhey dlvlde
lnLo Lwo Lubes Lhe pull elLher way of Lhe lungs Lo spread Lhe alr over a greaLer area 1he bronchl have slmllar
sLrucLures Lo Lhe 1rachea slnce Lhey are ulLlmaLely servlng an equal purpose 1he bronchloles are Lhe dlvlslonal
Lubes whlch come off Lhe bronchl leadlng onLo Lhe Alveoll
When Lhe alr reaches Lhe alveoll lL fllls up Lhe mlcroscoplc sack and presses agalnsL Lhe permeable membrane 1he
Cxygen molecules (belng slgnlflcanLly smaller Lhan Lhe oLher molecules ln alr) dlffuse Lhrough Lhe wall lnLo Lhe
caplllarles over Lhe oLher slde 1he large surface area of Lhe alveoll makes Lhls process more efflclenL and
Lhorough
1he sLages llsLed Lo Lhls polnL are all parL of Lhe ulmonary venLllaLlon and Lhus Lhe flrsL sLage of resplraLlon
1he Iourney of 8|ood from the neart to the Lungs
8efore 8esplraLlon can conLlnue 8ed blood cells are requlred Lo pass Lhe alveoll and comblne wlLh oxygen lor Lhls
Lo occur deoxygenaLed blood cells reLurn from Lhe cells and Lhe Llssues by conLlnulng Lhelr cycle ln Lhe blood
sLream 1he hearL ls a myogenlc muscular organ LhaL pumps Lhe blood around Lhe blood sLream by compresslng
Lhe space ln whlch Lhe blood can flow consequenLly lncreaslng Lhe pressure 1hls change ln pressure forces Lhe
blood Lo be pushed forward 1hls process ls repeaLed LhroughouL Lhe llfe of Lhe anlmal aL a raLe of sllghLly more
Lhan once per second
As Lhe deoxygenaLed blood works lLs work back Lhrough Lhe blood sLream lL wlll evenLually reach Lhe hearL lLself
enLerlng Lhrough an elasLlc Lube called Lhe vena Cava 1he Superlor vena Cava ls Lhe enLrance Lo Lhe hearL for
blood from Lhe upper body Lhe lnferlor Lakes ln blood from Lhe lower
1he blood whllsL conLlnulng Lo be pumped from Lhe hearL ls pulled lnLo Lhe rlghL aLrlum as Lhe hearL expands
decreaslng lLs lnLernal pressure lrom Lhls Lhe blood rushes Lhrough Lhe ALrlovenLrlcular valves lnLo Lhe lefL
venLrlcle 1he venLrlcle ls Lhe area ln whlch Lhe blood ls squeezed ouL as a resulL of Lhe hearL beaL
An lmpulse ls LransmlLLed from Lhe SlnoaLrlal node Lhrough Lhe ALrla Lo Lhe ALrlovenLrlcular node 1he resulL of
Lhls ls Lhe hearL conLracLs from one Lhe boLLom Lo Lhe Lop pushlng Lhe blood ouL ln Lhe correcL dlrecLlon
ueoxygenaLed blood slLs ln Lhe 8lghL venLrlcle for a spllL second unLll lL ls pumped Lhrough Lhe seml lunar valves
and lnLo Lhe rlghL and lefL pulmonary arLerles
1he 8lghL slde of Lhe hearL ls noLlceably less muscular because lL only needs Lo produce small pressures for Lhe
blood Lo be pumped Lo Lhe lungs 1he rlghL and lefL pulmonary arLerles lead Lo Lhe respecLlve lung
xterna| kesp|rat|on
1he nexL secLlon ln Lhe oxygen molecule's [ourney ls called Lhe exLernal resplraLlon uurlng Lhls secLlon Lhe Cxygen
ls exchanged wlLh Lhe producL Carbon uloxlde Lhrough Lhe alveoll lnLo Lhe haemoglobln of Lhe passlng red blood
cells Lhrough Lhe process of dlffuslon 8ecause Carbon uloxlde ls Lhe wasLe producL of glucose and Cxygen Lhe
molecules are carrled back Lo Lhe lungs ln Lhe 8ed blood cells and cross dlffuse lnLo Lhe alveoll whlch Lhen are
expelled when Lhe lung capaclLy decreases and Lhe pressure lncreases Lhus forclng Lhe gasses ouL
1here are mulLlple facLors whlch can affecL Lhe raLe aL whlch Lhe gasses are exchanged CeneLlcally Lhe Lhlckness
of Lhe alveoll has a large effecL on Lhe raLe aL whlch Lhe gasses can pass Lhrough Lhe Lhlnner Lhe membrane Lhe
less dlsLance Lhere ls Lo Lravel 1he surface area of Lhe alveoll can vary hugely from person Lo person and lf Lhe
person has a large surface area on Lhe alveoll Lhere ls more membrane for Lhe gasses Lo pass Lhrough maklng Lhe
process more efflclenL A Lhlrd facLor would be Lhe concenLraLlon of Lhe gasses elLher slde Lhe larger Lhe
dlfference ln concenLraLlon Lhe larger Lhe concenLraLlon gradlenL and Lherefore Lhe fasLer dlffuslon wlll occur
Some Cxygen dlffuses lnLo Lhe blood plasma buL because oxygen does noL dlssolve easlly lnLo a llquld lL ls
requlred Lo comblne wlLh Lhe haemoglobln ln Lhe red blood cells for more efflclenL LransporLaLlon Cxygen and
Paemoglobln comblne ln an easlly reverslble reacLlon Lo creaLe qulLe slmply oxyhemoglobln
1he Iourney of 8|ood through the neart
now Lhe 8lood ls oxygenaLed and beglns lLs [ourney back Lo Lhe hearL aL a low pressure When lL makes lL Lo Lhe
hearL lL's forced Lhrough Lhe LefL ulmonary velns and lnLo Lhe lefL aLrlum lollowlng Lhe same process as Lhe
deoxygenaLed blood Lhe blood ls pushed Lhrough Lhe aLrlovenLrlcular valve lnLo Lhe lefL venLrlcle vla an lmpulse
Lhe hearL conLracLs and squeezes Lhe blood up Lhrough Lhe seml lunar valves and ouL Lhe AorLa Lo Lhe resL of Lhe
body 1he Coronary ArLerles also lead off from Lhe AorLa and are paLhways for blood Lo feed Lhe hearL wlLh acLual
oxygen lLself
When Lhe blood beglns lLs [ourney back around Lhe body Lhe hearL's elasLlc flbres pull lL back lnLo shape and Lhe
pressure falls resulLlng ln lL Lo flll up wlLh blood When Lhe pressure drops Lhe four valves ln Lhe hearL slam shuL
prevenLlng back flow Lhls lncreases Lhe efflclency of Lhe hearL greaLly
1he [ourney of 8|ood from the neart to the kest of the 8ody
1he blood Lravels lLs way down Lhrough Lhe arLerles Lhen lnLo Lhe smaller vessels known as caplllarles 1hls ls
when Lhe blood reaches Lhe cells and can dlffuse lnLo Lhe cells
8ecause Lhere ls anoLher vasL dlfference ln concenLraLlon of oxygen ln Lhe cells Lo LhaL ln Lhe red blood cells Lhe
oxygen molecules dlssoclaLes wlLh Lhe haemoglobln and ls drawn lnLo Lhe cells 1he opposlLe occurs for Lhe Carbon
uloxlde ln Lhe cell whlch ls drawn ouL and ls Laken back Lo Lhe lungs ln Lhe 8ed blood cells
Cnce lnslde Lhe cell Lhe mlLochondrla use Lhe Cxygen Lo creaLe A1 ln Lurn Lhls creaLes wasLe producLs of carbon
dloxlde and waLer whlch are Laken back Lo Lhe lungs when more oxygenaLed blood arrlves




8epeaL