Respiration

Introduction The lung is the essential respiration organ in air-breathing vertebrates. Its principal function is to transport oxygen from the atmosphere into the bloodstream, and to excrete carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere. This exchange of gases is accomplished in the mosaic of specialised cells that form millions of tiny, exceptionally thin-walled air sacs called alveoli. The lungs also have nonrespiratory functions. Mechanism of breathing Energy production from aerobic respiration requires oxygen and produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct, creating a need for an efficient means of oxygen delivery to cells and excretion of carbon dioxide from cells. 1. Air enters the body through the nose, is warmed, filtered, and passed through the nasal cavity. 2. Air passes the pharynx (which has the epiglottis that prevents food from entering the trachea). 3. The upper part of the trachea contains the larynx. The vocal cords are two bands of tissue that extend across the opening of the larynx. 4. After passing the larynx, the air moves into the bronchi that carry air in and out of the lungs. 5. Bronchi are reinforced to prevent their collapse and are lined with ciliated epithelium and mucusproducing cells. Bronchi branch into smaller and smaller tubes known as bronchioles. 6. It moves to the lungs. 7. The lungs are a rich lattice of alveoli, which provide an enormous surface area for gas exchange. A network of fine capillaries allows transport of blood over the surface of alveoli. Oxygen from the air inside the alveoli diffuses into the bloodstream, and carbon dioxide diffuses from the blood to the alveoli, both across thin alveolar membranes. 8. The drawing and expulsion of air is driven by muscular action; a complicated musculoskeletal system is used. A large muscle, the diaphragm (in addition to the internal intercostal muscles), drive ventilation by periodically altering the intra-thoracic volume and pressure.

Inspiration (inhalation)
During inspiration, the intercostal muscles contract and push the ribs upward and forward .The rib cage itself is also able to expand and contract to some degree, through the action of other respiratory and accessory respiratory muscles. At the same time the muscles of diaphragm contract and diaphragm becomes less dome shaped. By increasing volume and thus decreasing pressure of diaphragm, air flows into the airways down a pressure gradient. These two actions cause an increase in the chest cavity and reduce pressure. When the pressure from the lungs removed, they expand. With the expansion of the lungs ,vacuum is created inside the lungs in which the air rushes from the outside due to higher atmospheric pressure. The lungs filter the oxygen through its lattice of alveoli from the air. Oxygen from the air inside the alveoli diffuses into the bloodstream. The oxygen-rich blood returns to the heart via the pulmonary veins to be pumped back into systemic circulation. This is called inspiration. The lungs made to expand by movements of ribs and diaphragm.

Expiration (exhalation)
During expiration the muscles of diaphragm relax and so the diaphragm assumes its dome shaped position. At the same time, the intercostal muscles of ribs relax , the ribs move downward and inward. Thus the

size of the chest is reduced from side to side. The sternum comes to its original state. As the result of relaxation of the muscles of diaphragm and of the intercostal muscles ,the size o the whole thorax is decreased which exerts pressure on enlarged lungs. Deoxygenated blood from the heart is pumped through the pulmonary artery to the lungs, where oxygen diffuses into blood and is exchanged for carbon dioxide in the haemoglobin of the erythrocytes (red blood cells). carbon dioxide diffuses from the blood to the alveoli of lungs. After collecting the carbon dioxide from the blood, the lungs are pressed the carbon dioxide inside lungs moves out of the lungs. Not all of the oxygen breathed in is converted into carbon dioxide; around 13% of what we breathe out is still oxygen. During normal breathing, expiration is passive and no muscles are contracted (the diaphragm relaxes). The lungs are composed of involuntary muscle. During inspiration and expiration, the part of the hind brain called medulla oblongata controls the movement of the intercostal muscles and lungs muscles. Deoxygenated blood from the heart is pumped through the pulmonary artery to the lungs, where oxygen diffuses into blood and is exchanged for carbon dioxide in the haemoglobin of the erythrocytes (red blood cells). The oxygen-rich blood returns to the heart via the pulmonary veins to be pumped back into systemic circulation. Another name for this inspiration and expulsion of air is ventilation

Gas exchange
gas exchange occurs at the alveoli, the tiny sacs which are the basic functional component of the lungs. The alveolar walls are extremely thin (approx. 0.2 micrometres). These walls are composed of a single layer of epithelial cells (type I and type II epithelial cells) in close proximity to the pulmonary capillaries which are composed of a single layer of endothelial cells. The close proximity of these two cell types allows permeability to gases and, hence, gas exchange.