Respiratory System

Dr. Dini Sri Damayanti,MKes

 Respiration
 Exchange of gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide)
between a living organism and its environment =
respiration.
 In animals (people) this takes place in the lungs (alveoli)
where the air and blood come in close contact.
 Pulmonary ventilation – breathing, the process that
moves air into and out of the lungs. Also called
external respiration.
 Internal respiration – process by which an
exchange of gases occurs between the blood and
the cells of the body.
 Cellular respiration – actual use of O2 by cells in
the process of metabolism.
 Mechanics of Breathing
 Muscles – control the size of the chest cavity.
 External intercostals – between the ribs move the chest up
and out when they contract.
 Diaphragm – dome shaped muscle between the thoracic and
abdominal cavities, moves down when it contracts increasing
the volume in the thorax.
 Hiccups (singultus) – involuntary, spasmodic contraction of the
diaphragm. Causes by irritation to the phrenic nerve or some types
of brain injury.
 Mechanics of Breathing
 Pulmonary ventilation has 2 phases:
 Inspiration or inhalation – moving air into lungs.
 Expiration or exhalation – moving air out of the lungs.
 Inspiration occurs as the thorax enlarges (contraction
of the external intercostals and diaphragm). Because of
the positioning of the pleura, the lungs expand as the
thorax expands and air rushes in and down to the
alveoli.
 Mechanics of Breathing

 Expiration
 Passive process that begins when the muscles
relax decreasing the size of the thorax and lungs
– air moves out of the lungs.
 Forceful expiration – internal intercostals and
abdominal muscles contract and depress the rib
cage decreasing the depth (front to back) of the
thorax. Pressure increases and air flows out of
the lungs.
 Gas Exchange
 CO2 moves into the lungs and leaves the body during
expiration.
 At the tissues O2 is low and CO2 high whereas the
blood reaching them is just the opposite. O2 moves out
of and CO2 moves into the blood.
 Most of the CO2 is carried in the blood as a
bicarbonate ion, some is dissolved in the plasma and
some combines with hemoglobin to form
carbaminohemoglobin.
 Respiratory Function

 Spirometer - device used to measure the amount of

air exchanged during breathing.
 Tidal volume – amount of air taken into our lungs
during normal inspiration; about 500 ml.
 Vital capacity – largest amount of air that we can
breathe in or out in one inspiration/expiration;
about 4800 ml in normal young men.
 Respiratory Function
 Expiratory reserve – amount of air that can be forcibly
exhaled after exhaling the tidal volume.
 Inspiratory reserve – amount of air that can be forcibly
inhaled over and above normal inhalation.
 Residual volume – air that remains in the lungs after the
most forceful expiration.
 Residual volume + Vital Capacity = Total Lung
Capacity.
 Physical Principles of Gas
Exchange
 Diffusion of gases through the respiratory
membrane
 Depends on membrane’s thickness, surface areas of
membrane, partial pressure of gases in alveoli and blood
 Relationship between ventilation and
pulmonary capillary flow
 Increased ventilation or increased pulmonary capillary blood
flow increases gas exchange
 Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide
Diffusion Gradients
 Oxygen  Carbon dioxide
 Moves from alveoli into  Moves from tissues into
blood. Blood is almost tissue capillaries
completely saturated with
 Moves from pulmonary
oxygen when it leaves the
capillary
capillaries into the
alveoli
 P02 in blood decreases
because of mixing with
deoxygenated blood
 Oxygen moves from
tissue capillaries into the
tissues
Changes in Partial Pressures
 Hemoglobin and Oxygen
Transport
 A shift of the curve to the right because of a decrease in
pH, an increase in carbon dioxide, or an increase in
temperature results in a decrease in the ability of
hemoglobin to hold oxygen
 The substance 2.3-bisphosphoglycerate increases the
ability of hemoglobin to release oxygen
 Fetal hemoglobin has a higher affinity for oxygen than
does maternal
 Oxygen-Hemoglobin
Dissociation Curve at Rest
Bohr effect:
Temperature effects:
Shifting the Curve
 Transport of Carbon Dioxide
 Carbon dioxide is transported as bicarbonate ions
(70%) in combination with blood proteins (23%)
and in solution with plasma (7%)
 Hemoglobin that has released oxygen binds more
readily to carbon dioxide than hemoglobin that has
oxygen bound to it (Haldane effect)
 In tissue capillaries, carbon dioxide combines with
water inside RBCs to form carbonic acid which
dissociates to form bicarbonate ions and hydrogen
ions
 Transport of Carbon Dioxide
 In lung capillaries, bicarbonate ions and hydrogen
ions move into RBCs and chloride ions move out.
Bicarbonate ions combine with hydrogen ions to
form carbonic acid. The carbonic acid is converted
to carbon dioxide and water. The carbon dioxide
diffuses out of the RBCs.
 Increased plasma carbon dioxide lowers blood pH.
The respiratory system regulates blood pH by
regulating plasma carbon dioxide levels
CO2 Transport and Cl- Movement
 Respiratory Areas in Brainstem

 Medullary respiratory center

 Dorsal groups stimulate the diaphragm
 Ventral groups stimulate the intercostal and
abdominal muscles
 Pontine (pneumotaxic) respiratory group
 Involved with switching between inspiration and
expiration
Respiratory Structures in Brainstem
 Rhythmic Ventilation
 Starting inspiration
 Medullary respiratory center neurons are continuously active
 Center receives stimulation from receptors and simulation from parts of
brain concerned with voluntary respiratory movements and emotion
 Combined input from all sources causes action potentials to stimulate
respiratory muscles
 Increasing inspiration
 More and more neurons are activated
 Stopping inspiration
 Neurons stimulating also responsible for stopping inspiration and receive
input from pontine group and stretch receptors in lungs. Inhibitory
neurons activated and relaxation of respiratory muscles results in
expiration.
 Modification of Ventilation

 Cerebral and limbic  Chemical control

system  Carbon dioxide is major
regulator
 Respiration can be
 Increase or decrease in pH
voluntarily controlled can stimulate chemo-
and modified by sensitive area, causing a
emotions greater rate and depth of
respiration
 Oxygen levels in blood
affect respiration when a
50% or greater decrease
from normal levels exists
Modifying Respiration
Regulation of Blood pH and
Gases
 Herring-Breuer Reflex

 Limits the degree of inspiration and prevents

overinflation of the lungs
 Infants
 Reflex plays a role in regulating basic rhythm of breathing
and preventing overinflation of lungs
 Adults
 Reflex important only when tidal volume large as in
exercise
 Ventilation in Exercise
 Ventilation increases abruptly
 At onset of exercise
 Movement of limbs has strong influence
 Learned component

 Ventilation increases gradually

 After immediate increase, gradual increase occurs
(4-6 minutes)
 Anaerobic threshold is highest level of exercise
without causing significant change in blood pH
 If exceeded, lactic acid produced by skeletal muscles
 Effects of Aging

 Vital capacity and maximum minute

ventilation decrease
 Residual volume and dead space increase
 Ability to remove mucus from respiratory
passageways decreases
 Gas exchange across respiratory membrane is
reduced
 pH Disturbances
 Respiratory – change in gas exchange; lungs
 Acidosis – blood pH is acid due to increased levels of CO2 in
the blood.
 Alkalosis – blood pH is alkaline or basic due to decreased
levels of CO2 in the blood.
 In any fluid that contains water:
CO2 + H2O → H2CO3 → H+ + HCO3-
 The brain senses the H+ concentration that develops in
the CSF because CO2 diffuses into the CSF from the
blood.
 Metabolic – change in pH that is not due to changes in
gas exchange in the lungs.
 Acidosis – diabetes mellitus, kidney disease or severe diarrhea
increase H+ in the blood. Respiratory compensation –
increased rate and depth.
 Alkalosis – vomiting, medications – decrease H+ in the
blood. Respiratory compensation – decreased rate and depth.