IV.

ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY

The respiratory system provides oxygen to the cells, removes waste products

and regulates the blood's pH or acid and base balance. It delivers oxygen to arterial

blood and remove carbon dioxide from venous blood, a process known as gas

exchange.

The respiratory system is situated in the thorax, and is responsible for gaseous

exchange between the circulatory system and the outside world. Air is taken in via the

upper airways (the nasal cavity, pharynx and larynx) through the lower airways (trachea,

primary bronchi and bronchial tree) and into the small bronchioles and alveoli within the

lung tissue.

The lungs are divided into lobes; The left lung is composed of the upper lobe, the

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lower lobe and the lingula (a small remnant next to the apex of the heart), the right

lung is composed of the upper, the middle and the lower lobes.

Process of Respiration

Respiration starts with inhalation, or breathing in, of air into the lungs. This

oxygen-filled air then is transported to the heart through blood vessels. The heart

pumps this oxygenated blood throughout the body. Oxygen is sent from the

bloodstream into the cells. When oxygen is in the cells, it is used to produce energy.

This is called cellular respiration. Carbon dioxide is made as a byproduct. The carbon

dioxide is transported from the cells to the bloodstream. Then the bloodstream

transports the carbon dioxide to the heart, which pumps this blood back to the lungs.

Here, exhalation, or breathing out, expels the carbon dioxide from the body and back

into the air.

The normal gas exchange depends on three process:

’ Ventilation ± is movement of gases from the atmosphere into and out of the

lungs. This is accomplished through the mechanical acts of inspiration and

expiration.

’ ÿiffusion ± is a movement of inhaled gases in the alveoli and across the alveolar

capillary membrane

’ Perfusion ± is movement of oxygenated blood from the lungs to the tissues.

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Physiology of Gas Exchange

Each branch of the bronchial tree eventually sub-divides to form very narrow

terminal bronchioles, which terminate in the alveoli. There are many millions of alveoli

in each lung, and these are the areas responsible for gaseous exchange, presenting a

massive surface area for exchange to occur over.

Each alveolus is very closely associated with a network of capillaries containing

deoxygenated blood from the pulmonary artery. The capillary and alveolar walls are very

thin, allowing rapid exchange of gases by passive diffusion along concentration

gradients. CO2 moves into the alveolus as the concentration is much lower in the

alveolus than in the blood, and O2 moves out of the alveolus as the continuous flow of

blood through the capillaries prevents saturation of the blood with O2 and allows

maximal transfer across the membrane.

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