This chapter examines the main function of the respiratory system, which is to provide the cells of the body with oxygen for the generation of metabolic energy and to remove the carbon dioxide produced by oxidative metabolism. To do so, it must have a means of transporting these two gases to and from the tissues and exchanging them with the atmospheric air. It focuses on the gas exchange in the alveoli and the matching of blood flow to the availability of oxygen. The chapter details the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide by the blood. Broadly, the respiratory system can be considered to consist of two parts: the conducting airways and the area of gas exchange.
Chapter
Alveolar ventilation and blood gas exchange
Chapter
Pulmonary defence mechanisms and common disorders of the respiratory system
This chapter explains that the respiratory minute volume of 6 l min-1 results in the intake of over 8500 litres of air each day. Even if the concentration of particles were to be only 0.001 per cent, this would include 85 ml of particulate matter. The chapter points out how the respiratory system needs to remove the inert material and inactivate the infectious and allergenic agents. The chapter mentions the three curved bony plates within the nasal cavity, which is the nasal conchae or turbinates which are covered with respiratory epithelium. These disturb the smooth flow of air and make it turbulent by forcing it into narrow passages where it is warmed and moistened.
Chapter
Respiratory System
This chapter explores the anatomy and function of the respiratory system. Respiration can be divided into cellular respiration, which produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from the breakdown of nutrients, and external respiration, wherein gaseous exchange takes place with the air in the lungs to take in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Ventilation of the lungs involves work to stretch the lungs themselves and overcome the resistance of movement through the airways. The chapter acknowledges how the prevention of lung ventilation can result in brain damage and death. It cites how feedback systems monitor the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and control the rate and depth of ventilation.
Chapter
Respiratory System
This chapter explores the anatomy and function of the respiratory system. Respiration can be divided into cellular respiration, which produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from the breakdown of nutrients, and external respiration, wherein gaseous exchange takes place with the air in the lungs to take in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Ventilation of the lungs involves work to stretch the lungs themselves and overcome the resistance of movement through the airways. The chapter acknowledges how the prevention of lung ventilation can result in brain damage and death. It cites how feedback systems monitor the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and control the rate and depth of ventilation.
Chapter
Cardiorespiratory Bases for Performance
This chapter provides a background on cardiovascular and respiratory systems from the perspective of the athlete. Their most important function is to deliver oxygen to the exercising muscles and to remove carbon dioxide, while maintaining blood flow to vital organs. The chapter explains how the cardiovascular system matches the blood flow to skeletal muscle to its metabolic rate. It also analyszes two circuits of the cardiovascular system that are arranged both in parallel and in series: pulmonary circuit and systemic circuit. The chapter explains that the pulmonary circuit conducts blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs and back to the left side of the heart. It clarifies how the systemic circuit conducts blood from the left side of the heart to all the tissues in the body and back to the right side of the heart.
Chapter
The respiratory system
This chapter details the principal role of the respiratory system, which is to provide an exchange of gases between the body and the environment. It outlines the functions of the respiratory system, such as its contribution to the maintenance of plasma pH and the production of sound. It also explains how the respiratory system ensures that adequate amounts of oxygen are delivered to tissues and carbon dioxide is efficiently removed when exchanging gases in a variety of environmental challenges. The chapter talks about the paired lungs that sit inside the thorax, which are formed from a series of bifurcations of a single trachea. It details how air enters the lung by a suction pump, wherein inspiration results in an increase in volume and a decrease in pressure inside the lungs.
Chapter
Exercise Physiology
This chapter considers the effects of exercise on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. During exercise, blood flow is redistributed to active tissue from other systems, which may affect their function. Thus, exercise physiology involves studying the effect of exercise, with or without the addition of other stressors, on systems, organs, and tissues. Moreover, understanding the effects of exercise on physiological function can result in strategies to enhance adaptation to an exercise stimulus and lead to further improvements in function. The chapter cites the critical significance of the regulation of blood pH via the integrated response of buffering systems, the respiratory system, and the renal system to ensure normal physiological function.
Chapter
Exercise Physiology
This chapter considers the effects of exercise on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. During exercise, blood flow is redistributed to active tissue from other systems, which may affect their function. Thus, exercise physiology involves studying the effect of exercise, with or without the addition of other stressors, on systems, organs, and tissues. Moreover, understanding the effects of exercise on physiological function can result in strategies to enhance adaptation to an exercise stimulus and lead to further improvements in function. The chapter cites the critical significance of the regulation of blood pH via the integrated response of buffering systems, the respiratory system, and the renal system to ensure normal physiological function.
Chapter
Disease of the respiratory system
This chapter focuses on diseases of the respiratory system. The respiratory system aims to provide blood arriving in the various branches of the pulmonary artery with oxygen and to remove waste products in the form of exhaled breath. In most respiratory diseases, the major clinical consequence is pneumonia, which may be fatal and may progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome. The chapter discusses the inflammatory disease of the upper airways, trachea, and bronchi, the pathology of lung disease, and the diagnosis and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and pulmonary embolism. It also considers the full implications of the global COVID-19 pandemic wherein SARS-CoV-2 killed millions of people.
Chapter
Lungs: the cells of the respiratory system
Behdad Shambayati and Andrew Evered
This chapter assesses the tissues and cells involved in respiration. Respiration is the transport of oxygen into cells and tissues, and the removal of carbon dioxide. The respiratory system consists of two parts: a system of tubes and passages for conduction of the air, and a respiratory portion in which gaseous exchange occurs. The conduction portion includes the nose, pharynx, trachea, and bronchi, while the respiratory portion includes respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts, and alveoli. Alveoli are sac-like structures that make up the majority of lung tissue and are the sites where exchange of O2 and CO2 takes place. The very thin wall of the alveoli and their close proximity to a dense network of capillaries allows the diffusion of oxygen from inspired air into arterioles, and the removal of carbon dioxide from venules into the alveolar space for removal during expiration.
Chapter
Acid–base disorders
David Tierney
This chapter assesses homeostasis of H+ions, the causes and consequences of acid-base disorders, and their laboratory investigation. The physiological control of H+ concentration is maintained by three interrelated mechanisms: buffering systems, the respiratory system, and the renal system. Intracellular and extracellular buffering systems, such as bicarbonate and haemoglobin, provide an immediate, but limited, response to pH changes. The respiratory system, which can be activated almost immediately, controls PCO2
by changing alveolar ventilation. The renal system regulates [HCO3
-] and is the slowest to respond. The physiological response to an acid-base disturbance, which limits the change in H+ concentration, is referred to as compensation. The chapter then looks at acidosis, alkalosis, and mixed acid-base disorders. Acid-base data can be interpreted in a systematic manner, from laboratory results, by examining pH status, PCO2
results, and the compensatory response by HCO3
-.
