Respiration

4 respiration processes
• 1- breathing also called ventilation – moving air in and out of lungs
• 2- external respiration – gas exchange between blood and air
• 3- internal respiration – gas exchange between blood and tissue
• 4- cellular respiration – oxygen used to produce energy carbon dioxide as
waste
• Respiration is a living process
• It occurs in 2 stages
• 1- external – that is breathing
• 2- internal – that is cellular respiration

External respiration – mechanical process of taking air into and out of lungs
Internal respiration – a biochemical process in living cells to release energy
in form of ATP.
• Why do we need energy
1- muscular contraction
2- active transport
3- nerve impulse transmission
4- protein synthesis
5- cell division
• Main substrate for energy is glucose
• Green plants capture and store energy of sunlight in glucose through
photosynthesis
• Humans and animals obtain glucose by digestion of carbohydrates
Cellular respiration
• It is a process of oxidizing glucose to obtain carbondioxide water and
energy in form of ATP
• Energy is released during cellular respiration
• 2 types of cellular respiration
1- aerobic respiration
2- anaerobic respiration
Aerobic respiration
• Needs oxygen
• Chemical equation
• Occurs in mitochondria (muscle )
• Energy that is released is used to synthesize ATP from ADP and
phosphate
• ATP has phosphate bonds which are broken and energy is released
which is used by the body
Anaerobic respiration
• does not need oxygen
• Happens during exercise because muscle needs more energy
• When muscle cells have used up all the available oxygen supply they
then carry out anaerobic respiration.
• Occurs in cytoplasm
• It is a process used to produce energy stored in glucose without the
need of oxygen.
In muscles
• Prolonged physical activity for example rate of respiration and the rate of heart beat increases
• Muscles are in a state of oxygen deficiency or oxygen debt
• Glucose molecules breakdown to produce lactic acid
• Incomplete breakdown of glucose causes energy release but this energy is less than that of aerobic
• Chemical equation of anaerobic

• High concentration of lactic acid causes muscle cramps and fatigue

• Body needs rest and fast breathing to recover
• Excess oxygen is used to oxidize lactic acid to form carbon dioxide and water. Oxidation takes place
in the liver.
• Oxygen demand means – amount of oxygen needed to remove lactic acid
• Lactic acid is removed and oxygen debt is paid off
• Higher the heart rate higher the removal of lactic acid.
In yeast
• Yeast undergoes both aerobic and anaerobic respiration depending on
the presence and absence of oxygen
• Anaerobic respiration of yeast is called fermentation
• Yeast ferments in warm conditions to produce carbon dioxide
• Carbon dioxide bubbles are trapped in dough and when baked the
bubbles give bread a spongy texture
• Enzyme involved is called zymase
• Ethanol is used in wine and beer production
• Chemical equation of anaerobic respiration
Similarities between anaerobic and aerobic
respiration
• Cellular respiration
• Glucose is used as a substrate
• Produce energy
• Catalyzed by enzyme
• Occurs in animals and plants
Differences between aerobic and anerobic
Respiratory structures involved in gas
exchange
• 1- plasma membrane
• 2- tracheal system in insects
• 3- gills in fish
• 4-skin
• 5-lungs
Features for better gas exchange
1- respiratory lining should be moist
2- cell lining the respiratory surface should be thin
3- respiratory structures should have a large surface area
• Gas exchange in humans takes place in lungs
• Air enters lungs through
1- trachea
2- bronchi
3- bronchiole
4- alveoli

Trachea is supported by cartilage to prevent it from collapsing during

inhalation.
The respiratory system
Alveoli
Functions of gas exchange
• Lungs have large number of alveoli that increase surface area
• Walls are single cell layer so gases can diffuse easily across the thin
walls
• Walls secrete a moisture lining so gas dissolves in it easily to diffuse
easily
• Walls are surrounded by a blood capillary network that transport
oxygen and carbon dioxide
Mechanism of breathing
Gaseous exchange at alveolus
• By diffusion
• Between blood capillaries and air in alveoli
• Oxygen concentration in alveoli is high and blood is low
• Oxygen diffuse from alveoli into blood
• Carbon dioxide in blood is high and in alveoli is low
• Carbon dioxide diffuses from blood into alveolar air.
Transport of oxygen from lungs to body cell
• after gas exchange at the alveoli
• Oxygenated blood transports oxygen to body cells for cellular
respiration
• Oxygen combines with hemoglobin to form oxyhemoglobin
• Oxyhemoglobin is unstable that means it can easily break into
hemoglobin and oxygen when needed.
• Hemoglobin is a red pigment in red blood cells
• It comes across low oxygen tissues
• It releases its oxygen which then diffuses from blood into tissue cells
Transport of carbon dioxide to lungs
• Carbon dioxide is being produced I the tissue cells
• Concentration of carbon dioxide is higher in tissue cell
• Carbon dioxide diffuses from tissue cells into blood plasma and red blood cells

• Carbon dioxide is transported in 3 ways

1- 7 percent in plasma
2- 23 percent binds to multiple amino groups of hemoglobin
( carboxyhemoglobin )
3- 70 percent carried by bicarbonate ions
Red blood cell and carbondioxide
• Carbon dioxide reacts with water in red blood cells to form carbonic
acid
• Enzyme of this reaction is carbonic anhydrase
• Carbonic acid breaks into hydrogen ion and bicarbonate ion
• Bicarbonate ion diffuses into blood plasma and carried to lungs
• In lungs it diffuses into alveoli and is expelled
Composition of inhaled and exhaled air
Difference between photosynthesis and
respiration
Similarities
1- both are
metabolic
processes
2- both are needed
for life
3- both maintain
carbon dioxide and
oxygen
composition