Respi in diving

• Diving mammals have adaptations that improve their swimming and

diving abilities
• Many of the respiratory adaptations in diving mammals do not have
counterparts in the human BH diver.
• With repetitive diving activities the respiratory systems of human
divers make temporary changes responses to the aquatic
environment ~acclimatization
• how important are the lungs as oxygen storage reservoirs for breath-
hold divers?
• After full inhalation, the pulmonary oxygen stores in diving mammals would
account 1/3 – ½ of their oxygen requirements during a dive.
• Human BH divers use their lungs for oxygen storage during a dive
• Four such adaptation in diving mammals hav been identified:
1. Protection from thoracic squeeze
2. Enabled them to avoid DCS
3. Alter sensitivities to respiratory gases
4. Increase efficiency of ventilation
PROTECTION FROM THORACIC
SQUEEZE
• Thoracic squeeze occurs when the increased pressure of a deep breath-hold
dive compresses the volume of gas in the lungs to less than the residual volume
• Fluid leakage and bleeding into the lungs result when this threshold is exceeded
• Human breath-hold ~ thoracic squeeze after a maximal inhalation to 37 MSW.
• Why diving mammals not get thoracic squeeze?
1. Lungs of seals and whales are able to collapse completely without causing injury.
• When dives, the only air in the respiratory system is in the dead spaces. The exchange of
O2 and CO2 at the alveolar level is nil.
• The lungs in these mammals collapse fully during the dive, they do not separate from the
chest walls
• Upon surfacing and resumption of breathing the lungs re-expand without incident
2. It is seen in the shape and flexibility of their chest walls, which are more cylindrical and more elastic than
the chest of humans
• These changes allow reduction in the chest cavity volume as pressure increases during descent. This
lessens the pressure differentials between the inside (lung cavity) and outside (chest wall) of the chest and
may be another protective mechanism
3. It is seen in the use of venous reservoirs to replace, at least partially, the cavities created by the collapsed
lungs during the dive.
• Schaefer et al, 1968 noted that about a quart (1 L) of blood shifted into blood vessels in the thoracic cavity
during a dive to 27 MSW and even more during a dive to 40 MSW.
• This blood displaced a corresponding amount of air in the lung cavity and apparently afforded additional
protection against thoracic squeeze
• The Ama’s: during their breath-hold dives, 1/5 (200cc) of blood shifts into the blood vessels of these
divers lung cavities (Rahn, 1965)
• After surfacing the Ama always breathe slowly and whistle during the exhalation phase of respiration.
• The Valsava-like effect (breathing against resistance) of the whistling may help return the blood that
shifted into the blood vessels of the lung cavity back to the systemic circulation.
*Increase in lung capacities that occur with breath-hold diving training.
• After repeated breath-hold dives, TLCs increase significantly while residual lung volumes decrease
relatively (Shaefer, 1963). This acclimatization increases the thoracic squeeze depth threshold
• PROTECTION FROM THORACIC SQUEEZE
• Possible explanation for the ability of these divers to tolerate depth well below
what should be possible?
1. Elasticity of the lung tissue itself may add an increased margin tolerance so that
damage does not occur until beyond the theoretical threshold
2. The effect of increased pressure on compressing the air-filled chest wall during a
breath-hold dive allowing the chest itself to reduce in size along with the lungs
3. Deep breath-hold diver say that they are able to hyperinflate to the lungs or
“pressurize” their lungs by further inhalations after their maximal inhalation
4. The deeper the dive , the greater are the shifts of blood from the blood vessels of
the extremities to the chest cavity
5. Developmental anomalies may increase the diver’s TLC’s (world BH dive record
had an abnormally large TLC, which he attributed to the effects of childhood
asthma
6. Female divers may have hereditary factors that increase their resistance to
thoracic squeeze.
PROTECTION FROM DCS
• Polynesian pearl divers of Tuamotu have become paralyzed after repetitive, deep breath-hold
dives (Cross, 1965) ~ Taravana or Falling syndrome.
• Symptoms occur after 4 – 5 hours of breath-hold to depth as great as 50 MSW. With a very short
surface intervals.
• Sperm whale, seal and other diving mammals avoid DCS by descending after full exhalation. •
• As the lung collapse, the residual air in the alveoli is forced into the nondiffusable portion of the
respiratory tree.
• As the lung collapse, the residual air in the alveoli is forced into the nondiffusable portion of the
respiratory tree.
• By the time by the time a depth of 30 MSW is reached, all of the residual gas in the alveoli of the
lungs will have in-gassed to the tissues. Thus, there will be no further in-gassing of air into the
body tissues with descent beyond this point.
• During ascent the expansion of air that was forced into the non-diffusible portions of the
respiratory tree could be a factor in re-expansion of the lungs
• Why diving mammals exhale before descent is an interesting
behaviorism.
• Exhalation may help initiate the diving reflex.
• Ama diver …
• Buoyancy reduction from exhalation undoubtedly helps with descent.
• The same adaptations that prevent thoracic squeeze from occurring in
diving mammals also protect these mammals from DCS
ALTERATION IN SENSITIVITIES TO
RESPIRATORY GASES
• 3rd respiratory adaptation observed in diving mammals is their decreased sensitivity to
low blood and lung oxygen concentrations and high CO2 levels
• Diving mammals have a depressed breathing response to elevation in CO2 and reduction
in O2
• These are adaptive mechanisms to increase the ability to tolerate anaerobic metabolism
and oxygen deficits to extend the durations of their dives.
• With practice human breath-hold divers develop respiratory acclimatizations that were
not observed in a control group of non-divers (Shaefer, 1963). Four acclimatizations were
noted:
• Significantly decreased ventilatory responses to breathing 10.5% CO2
• Improved O2 utilization, that is more extraction of O2 from the blood without loss of consciousness
• Tolerance to larger O2 deficits without having to stop the exercise activity
• Increased tolerance to elevated tissue CO2 levels
• These responses disappeared three months after diving was
discontinued, which is consistent with their classification as
acclimatizations rather than adaptations.
• However there are natural differences in human tolerance to breathing
eleved levels of CO2 that are consistent with adaptation
• Ama divers of japan demonstrate similar respiratory adaptations as compared
to their non-diving counterparts (Elsner and Scholander, 1965).
• Alterations in sensitivities to respiratory gases are observed in both
mammals and human breath-hold divers.
• These changes improve their abilities to tolerance exercise and the
effects of anaerobic metabolism
• The changes include decreased breathing responses to elevated levels of CO2
both in breathing gas and in body tissues and improved ability to tolerate and
function with low oxygen tension in their tissues
EFFICIENCY OF VENTILATION
• Diving mammals have markedly slower respiration rates, higher
oxygen utilization percentage and larger tidal volume to lung capacity
ratio than humans do. Whales show greater changes.
• As TV approach TLC ventilation becomes increasingly efficient:
1. Lower RR and larger volumes of air exchange:
• reduce the energy expenditures required for ventilation
• Less insensible fluid losses from the lungs
2. Higher % of Oxygen utilization increase the efficiency of each breath.
• This reduces the need to increase the RR to maintain the same level
of oxygenation of the blood.
• Highly trained human breath-hold divers demonstrated improved
efficiency of breathing as compared to non-divers.
• Their vital capacities were 14% higher than would be predicted by
age, gender and height
• Significantly increased TV, IRV, TLC and VC in trained divers
• Decreased residual volume
• As well as the thoracic squeeze depth threshold
3. Fully inflated lungs assist in buoyancy. With improved buoyancy,
swimming movements are minimized during recovery from a dive on
the surface.
• This reduces energy expenditures and hasten recovery.
4. Improved efficiency in breathing is associated with conservation of
body heat.
TECHNOLOGY TO MEET THE RESPIRATORY
CHALLENGES OF THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT

• It allows the diver to maintain neutral

buoyancy easily at any depth
• Inflator hose has a connection to a low-pressure port on the primary
stage of the SCUBA regulator
• The diver can add air to the BC by manual inflation (from air in his
lung) or from air in the SCUBA tanks