The Respiratory System

Physiological Functions of Lung

- Exchange of O2 and CO2
- Heat exchange
- Keeping the acidity of blood on a constant level
- Fluid balance of body/warming and moisturizing the inhaled air

2 characteristics of the human respiratory system

1. Uses convective systems (circulatory and ventilatory systems) for long-distance transport of O2
and CO2
2. Reserves diffusion for short-distance transport of O2 and CO2

Convection = the circulatory motion that occurs in gas or liquid at a nonuniform temperature owing to
currents caused by differences in density

Lung Volumes
○ Tidal Volume = is the amount of air that can be inhaled or exhaled during one respiratory cycle
○ Inspiratory Reserve Volume = is the amount of air that can be forcibly inhaled after a normal tidal
volume
○ Residual Volume = is the volume of air remaining in the lungs after maximal exhalation
○ Expiratory Reserve Volume = is the volume of air that can be exhaled forcibly after exhalation of
normal tidal volume
○ Total Lung Capacity = is the maximum volume of air the lungs can accommodate or sum of all
volume compartments or volume of air in lungs after maximum inspiration

Vital Capacity and General Gas Law

- Boyle's Law tells us that the volume of gas increases as the pressure decreases.
- Charles' Law tells us that the volume of gas increases as the temperature increases.
- Avogadro's Law tell us that the volume of gas increases as the amount of gas increases.
- The ideal gas law is the combination of the three simple gas laws.

Dalton's Law of Partial Pressure = the total pressure exerted by a mixture of gases is equal to the sum
of separate or partial pressures that each gas would exert if it alone occupied the entire volume

For atmospheric air

The partial pressure of any gas can be calculated using the following formula:
partial pressure = fractional concentration (F) x total gas pressure

Water Vapor Pressure and Temperature

- Temperature
The higher the temperature is, the more molecules have enough energy to escape from the liquid or solid,
which leads to higher vapor pressure values.

temperature of a liquid increases → kinetic energy of its molecules increases → number of molecules
transitioning into a vapor increases → vapor pressure increases
At lower temperatures, fewer molecules have sufficient energy.

- Substance nature (types of molecules)

The vapor pressure will be relatively low for substances with stronger intermolecular forces. On the contrary,
the vapor pressure is relatively high for relatively weak forces.

The important thing to mention is the fact that the surface area of liquid/solid substance in contact with the gas
doesn't affect the vapor pressure. So it doesn't matter if we put our liquid into a wide flask or a thin graduated
cylinder - the vapor pressure remains the same.

The partial pressure of O2 is calculated using the formula

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The Respiratory System
Henry's Law = the quantity of a dissolved gas in a liquid at a given temperature is almost
directly proportional to the partial pressure of that gas in the gas phase in equilibrium

Partial pressure of oxygen reflects the amount of oxygen gas dissolved in the blood
- Elevated level is associated with
○ Increased oxygen levels in the inhaled air
○ Polycythaemia
- Decreased levels is associated with
○ Decreased oxygen levels in the inhaled air
○ Anaemia
○ Heart decompensation
○ Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
○ Restrictive pulmonary disease
○ Hypoventilation

Partial pressure of carbon dioxide reflects the amount of carbon dioxide is dissolved in the
blood
- Elevated levels are associated with
○ Pulmonary oedema
○ Obstructive lung disease
- Decreased levels are associated with
○ Hyperventilation
○ Hypoxia
○ Anxiety
○ Pregnancy
- 2 factors significantly impact the partial pressure of carbon dioxide
1. The depth and speed of breathing
Hyperventilating - lower pco2
Holding in breath - higher pco2
2. The lungs capacity for freely exchanging CO2 across the alveolar membrane
Pulmonary oedema - extra layer of fluid in the alveoli that interferes with the lung's
ability to get rid of CO2 - rise in pco2
Acute asthmatic attack - upper and middle airway obstruction to block alveolar
ventilation - CO2 retention

Medical Application of Henry Law

- Compensation of inadequate haemoglobin content by Hyperbaric Oxygen
→ acute poisoning of carbon dioxide
→ Gas gangrene
→ Loss of sexual vitality
- Decompression sickness

Breathing gases - mixture of gases used in breathing equipment and enclosed habitats
- Reduces the risk of decompression sickness
- Reduces the duration of decompression
- Reduces nitrogen narcosis
- Allowing safer deep diving
Features of a safe breathing gas:
- Contains sufficient oxygen to support life, consciousness and work rate of the breather
- Must not contain harmful gases
- Must not become toxic when being breathed at high pressure

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The Respiratory System
Oxygen Toxicity
- Anaesthesiology
○ Free radicals damage cell membranes and damage of surfactants
○ Neonatal fibrosis
- Diving
- Depends on exposition time and personal susceptibility

Symptoms of oxygen toxicity

CNS
• V - visual disturbances
• E - ears (hearing abnormalities)
• N - nausea
• T - twitching
• I - irritability
• D - dizziness

Lungs
- Decrease in vital capacity
- Cough
- Increases respiratory effort
- Pain in sternum
- Dyspnea
- Lung oedema
- Lung fibrosis

Volume changes in the thoracic cavity and produces a pressure gradient which moves air in and out of the
alveoli
Total Respiratory Pulmonary Rate = Breathing frequency x Tidal Volume

Inspiration and Expiration

Inspiration = contraction of the diaphragm
- Expands the size of the thoracic cavity
- Decreases the intrapleural pressure
- Pulls the visceral pleura along with the parietal pleura
- Decreases the intrapulmonary (alveolar) pressure
- Draws air into the alveoli

Expiration = relaxation of the diaphragm and external intercostal muscles

- Permits recoil of the elastic fibers in the walls of the lungs and alveoli
- Increases the intrapulmonary (alveolar) pressure
- Air is forced out of the alveoli
- Pulls the parietal pleura along with the visceral pleura
- Decreases the size of the thoracic cavity

Intrapleural pressure
- The intrapleural pressure (which is usually -4 mmHg at rest) becomes more subatmospheric or more
negative.
- Due to the adhesive force of the pleural fluid, the expansion of the thoracic cavity forces the lungs to
stretch and expand as well.
- This increase in volume leads to a decrease in intra-alveolar pressure, creating a pressure lower than
atmospheric pressure.

What happens when intrapleural pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure (pneomothorax or collapsed
lung)

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The Respiratory System
Compliance (C) = is a measure of the elasticity of the connective of airways ,lungs and
blood vessels and the surface tension of the alveolar gas-liquid interface)
- Refers to the distensibility of an elastic structure
- It is the difference between alveolar pressure and intrapleural pressure

Emphysema - many alveolar walls are lost, the lungs become so loose and floppy that only a
small pressure difference is necessary to maintain a large volume. Thus the lungs become
highly compliant, involving more difficult expiration - loss of elastic recoil

Fibrosis - the lung becomes stiff, making a large pressure necessary to maintain a moderate
volume - poorly compliant, more work required to breathe

Determinants of lung compliance

- Surface tension; Laplace law, pulmonary surfactants
- Elastic properties

Surface tension and Laplace law

Laplace's law states that the pressure inside an inflated elastic container with a curved
surface, e.g., a bubble or a blood vessel, is inversely proportional to the radius as long as the
surface tension is presumed to change little.
- The pressure inside the bubble is greater to stop it from imploding

Surfactants - surface active agents

Characteristics of surfactant
- Serves to minimize the surface tension
- As the surface area of the film is reduced, the surface tension decreases
- Contains both hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups (amphipathic)
- Contains phosphatidylcholine

Functions of surfactants
- Lines alveoli
- Reduces surface tension between water molecules
- Increases compliance
- Prevents oedema = movement of fluid into the alveoli

Physiological Advantages of Lung Surfactants

- Reduction of the work of breathing; reduces muscular effort needed to expand the lung
- Decrease in the elastic recoil at low lung volumes - helps to prevent the lung from
collapsing at the end of each respiration
- Stabilization of alveoli

Resistance to Airflow
Gas flow during breathing is opposed by:
- Viscous resistance caused by tissue friction during breathing
- Airway resistance caused by friction between gas molecules and the walls of airways
and internal friction between gas molecules
- Inertial forces
To calculate the resistance to airflow

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The Respiratory System
Determinants of Gas Diffusion in Lungs
- The physiochemical characteristics of transferred gas
○ Molecular weight
○ Gas temperature
○ Solubility coefficient
- The driving pressure across the alveolocapillary membrane
○ Alveolar ventilation
○ Chemical reactions
○ Pulmonary capillary blood flow
- The characteristics of the lung
○ Membrane area
○ Diffusion distance
○ Liquid viscosity

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