The response of the breathing system to exercise

Components of the lung volume

 In a normal person at rest ,tidal volume is about 0.5dm 3 or about 15% of the vital capacity of the lungs. The
rate of breathing can be expressed as the ventilation rate,

 The ventilation of the lungs needs to supply all the oxygen that is required by the tissues of the body
depending on the activity and also remove all the waste carbon dioxide.
 The rate of ventilation depends on two factors.

1.The volume of air taken into the lungs at each breath

2. Number of breaths per minute

Control and regulation of breathing

 The basic stimulus to inhale and exhale comes from the ventilation centre in medulla oblongata.
 It involves a feedback system based on stretching of the bronchi during breathing.

Ventilation centre

1. Inspiratory centre
2. Expiratory centre

 Impulses from the ventilation cenre travel along the sympathetic nerves and cause intercoastal muscles and
diaphragm to contract.
 Inhalation lets air into the lungs.( Inhalation)
 When the lungs inflate stretch receptors in the walls of the bronchi send impulses to the ventilation centre.
 These impulses inhibit the ventilation centre and it stops stimulating breathing muscles.
 As a result, inhalation process stops and muscles start to relax leading to exhalation.

Breathing and homeostasis

 The main stimulus affecting the breathing rate is the level of carbon dioxide in the blood.
 An increase in carbon dioxide concentration leads to an increase in both the rate and depth of breathing.
 This is because the diaphragm and the intercoastal muscles contract harder and more rapidly,
 A fall in carbon dioxide has the opposite effect.
Effect of exercise on breathing rate

1. Start of exercise.
2. The cortex of the brain consciously recognized the movement.
3. It sends impulses to stimulate the ventilation centre in the medulla.
4. This simulates the respiratory muscles to increase the depth and rete of ventilation.
5. Chemoreceptors detect the fall in pH of the blood.
6. Impulses are sent back to the ventilation centre.
7. Then the ventilation centre send impulses to the breathing muscles to change the breathing rate.
8. It speeds up the negative feedback system to remove extra carbon dioxide and matches the oxygen demand
of the body.
9. The chemical sensors and stretch receptors in the muscles and lungs act on the respiratory centre to
maintain increased ventilation rates until the exercise is finished
10. There is no longer an oxygen debt.