16

---

The Breathinu....5Ystem

I The Thorax

1ll.WJ1ing

Le~rn this diagram real good.

1) The THORAXis the top part
of your 'body'.
2) The LUNGS are
like BIG PINK
SPONGES.

nasal
oavity
epiglottis

3) The TRACHEA splits

into two tubes called
"BRONCHI" (each one
is "a bronchus"), one
going to each lung.

soft palate
oesophagus
(food pipe)
traohea
(wind pipe)

[ bronohus

4) The bronchi split into

progressively smaller
tubes called
BRONCHIOLES.
5) The bronchioles finally
end at small bags called
ALVEOLI where the gas
exchange takes place.

diaphragm
muscle

The Mucous Membrane and Cilia

1) A mucous membrane and many cilia cover the inside surfaces of the air passages.
2) The membrane produces a sticky liquid called mucous which helps to keep conditions moist
and warm inside the lungs.
3) Mucous also traps dust particles and bacteria which might be breathed in.

4) Ciliaare tiny hairs which constantly wave backwards and forwards, pushing the mucous up
the trachea.
5) The mucous entrapped particles are pushed up into the larynx by the cilia. and then into the
oesophagus to be swallowed.
S) The action of the mucous membrane and cilia helps keep the lungs clean and free of small

particles.

51Jm Huffing and Puffing and just LEARN flu

When you practise repeating diagrams from memory. you don't have to draw them really neatl\:j.
just sketch them clear enough to label all the important bits. They would never ask you to dra\
a really fancy diagram in the Exam, but they will expect you to label one. But the only way to
be sure you really know a diagram is to sketch it and label it, all from memory. Also make sure
you learn all the points about the action of mucous and cilia in keeping the lungs clean.

I Ventilation

and GasExchang~

lJHMhi1l9
I

I ventilation is... I
I Breathing In... I

I ... and Breathing Out I

1) Intercostals and diaphragm CONTRACT.

2) Thorax volume INCREASES.
3) Air is DRAWN IN.

1) Intercostals and diaphragm RELAX.

2) Thorax volume DECREASES.
3) Air is FORCED OUT.

Air forced out

I Air drawn in I
muscles between
ribs pull rib cage
and sternum
up and out

rib cage and

sternum drop
in and down

Gaseous Exchange Occurs in the Alveoli

The ALVEOLI are an ideal EXCHANGE

SURFACE. They have:
1) An ENORMOUS SURFACE AREA
(a bout 70m2 in total).
2) A MOIST LINING for dissolving gases.
3) Very THIN WALLS.
4) A COPIOUS BLOOD SUPPLY.

1) The job of the lungs is to transfer

OXYGEN to the blood and to remove
waste CARBON DIOXIDE from it.
2) To do this the lungs contain millions of
ALVEOLI where GAS EXCHANGE takes place.

This is a very Easy Page To learn~

Notice that the numbered points repeat information that the diagrams already show very clearly.
The big idea is that you should understand and remember what goes on and why it all works so
well. A clear visual image in your head of these diagrams makes it a lot easier.
Learn the diagrams, words and all, until you can sketch them out entirelv from memorlJ.

;
I
~

Respiration
Respiration is NOT "breathing in and out"

1) Respiration is NOT breathing in and breathing out, as you rnight think.

2) Respiration actually goes on in everlJ oell in 1J0ur bodlJ.
3) Respiration is the process of oonverting gluoose to energlJ.

4) It takes place in plants too. All living things "respire".

They oonvert "food" into energlJ.

"

II'

'

I Aerobic Respiration Needs Plenty of OXJ!!lm I

1) Aerobio respiration is what happens if there's plentlJ of oxygen available.
2) "Aerobio" just rneans "with air" and it's the ideal walJ to oonvert gluoose into energy.

You need to learn THE WORD EQUATION:

I

Glucose + Oxygen ~ Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy

C6"1206 + 602 ~

6C02 + 6"20 + Energy:

Aerobio respiration takes place in the mitoohondria

Composition of Inhaled and Exhaled Air I

This is the difference between what you BREATHE IN and what you BREATHE OUT:
GAS:

AIR IN:

AIR OUT:

Nitrogen
Oxygen
CO2
Water vapour

79CJ"o
21%
O.04CJ"o

79CJ"o
16%
4%

Varies

Loads

1) Note that the arnount of OXYGEN

U9ED rnatches the arnount of CO(2
PRODUCED, as in the above equation.
2) Notice that even with rnillions of
alveoli. you still only absorb A 9MALL
PROPORTION OF THE OXYGEN in each
breath.

One Big Deep Breath and LEARNIr.

The frrst two sections on this page are the rnost irnportant and learning thern well enough to
soribble them down frorn memory isn't so diffrcult. Try to visualise the basic page layout and
rernernber how rnany nurnbered points there are for each bit. You don't have to write it out
word for word. just rnake sure you rernernber the irnportant points about each bit.

II

Anaerobic Respiration
Anaerobic Respiration

doesn't use OXY.genat all

1) Anaerobio respiration is what happens if there's no oxygen available.

Q) "Anaerobic" just means "without air" and it's NOT the best wav to oonvert gluoose into energ,lJ.
You need to learn

THE WORD EQUATION:

Energy + Lactic Acid

Glucose ~
~-

---

~--

--

--

---

3) Anaerobio respiration does not produoe nearlv as muoh energlJ

as aerobic respiration -

but it's useful in emergencies.

I Fitness and the OXJ'.!lenDebt I

1) When you do vigorous exeroise and your bodV
they start doing anaerobio respiration instead.

oan't supplV enough oxvg,en to your muscles

Q) This isn't great because laotio aoid builds up in the muscles, which gets painful.
3) The advantage is that

at least VOUoan keep on using, vour musoles for a while longer.

4) After resorting to anaerobic respiration,

5) In other words VOUhave
muscles in time, because

when you stop you'll have an

oxv.g,en debt.

to "repav" the oxv.g,en which you didn't manage to get to your

vour lungs, heart and blood oouldn't keep up with the demand

earlier on.
S) This means you have to keep breathing hard for a while after vou stop to get oxygen into
your muscles to convert the painful lactic acid to harmless CO2 and water.

high levels of CO2 and laotio aoid are detected in the blood (by the brain). the pulse and
breathing rate are both inoreased automatioalllJ to try and rectify the situation.

7) When

8) A good measure of fitness is how quioklV VOUoan reoover to normal breathing and pulse
after doing some vigorous exercise. This is called your reooverv time.

Anaerobic Respiration

in Yeast Makes Bread and Beer

YEA9T is used for MAKING BREAD and for BREWING BEER. and in both cases the yeast does
the business by performing ANAEROBIC RE9PIRATION.
Another word for this process is FERMENTATION. learn this formula for it:

Glucose ~

Alcohol + Carbon Dioxide

(+ Energy)

In bread-making as the yeast gets to work it's the CO[2 whioh makes the bread rise. _
In brewing, of course the aloohol's the most important bit. but the CO2 also makes it kinda fizzy.
(gee the Chemistry

Book for more details on fermentation.)

Let's See What you Know Then

Read the page then see what you can soribble down about each of the three sections.
Then frlJ
again. You don't want to try and learn those eight points about "Oxygen Debt" too formally. It's
much better to write your own mini-essay on it and then see what stuff you missed. Enjoy.