respiratory_system

THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Cellular respiration involves the breakdown of organic molecules to produce ATP. A sufficient supply of
oxygen is required for the aerobic respiratory machinery of Kreb's Cycle and the Electron Transport
System to efficiently convert stored organic energy into energy trapped in ATP. Carbon dioxide is also
generated by cellular metabolism and must be removed from the cell. There must be an exchange of
gases: carbon dioxide leaving the cell, oxygen entering. Animals have organ systems involved in
facilitating this exchange as well as the transport of gases to and from exchange areas.
Bodies and Respiration

Single-celled organisms exchange gases directly across their cell membrane. However, the slow
diffusion rate of oxygen relative to carbon dioxide limits the size of single-celled organisms. Simple
animals that lack specialized exchange surfaces have flattened, tubular, or thin shaped body plans,
which are the most efficient for gas exchange. However, these simple animals are rather small in size.
Respiratory Surfaces
Large animals cannot maintain gas exchange by diffusion across their outer surface. They developed
a variety of respiratory surfaces that all increase the surface area for exchange, thus allowing for
larger bodies. A respiratory surface is covered with thin, moist epithelial cells that allow oxygen and
carbon dioxide to exchange. Those gases can only cross cell membranes when they are dissolved in
water or an aqueous solution, thus respiratory surfaces must be moist.
Methods of Respiration
Sponges and jellyfish lack specialized organs for gas exchange and take in gases directly from the
surrounding water. Flatworms and annelids use their outer surfaces as gas exchange surfaces.
Arthropods, annelids, and fish use gills; terrestrial vertebrates utilize internal lungs.
The Body Surface

Flatworms and annelids use their outer surfaces as gas exchange surfaces. Earthworms have a series
of thin-walled blood vessels known as capillaries. Gas exchange occurs at capillaries located
throughout the body as well as those in the respiratory surface.
Amphibians use their skin as a respiratory surface. Frogs eliminate carbon dioxide 2.5 times as fast
through their skin as they do through their lungs. Eels (a fish) obtain 60% of their oxygen through their
skin. Humans exchange only 1% of their carbon dioxide through their skin. Constraints of water loss
dictate that terrestrial animals must develop more efficient lungs.
Gills
Gills greatly increase the surface area for gas exchange. They occur in a variety of animal groups
including arthropods (including some terrestrial crustaceans), annelids, fish, and amphibians. Gills
typically are convoluted outgrowths containing blood vessels covered by a thin epithelial layer.
Typically gills are organized into a series of plates and may be internal (as in crabs and fish) or
external to the body (as in some amphibians).
Gills are very efficient at removing oxygen from water: there is only 1/20 the amount of oxygen present
in water as in the same volume of air. Water flows over gills in one direction while blood flows in the
opposite direction through gill capillaries. This countercurrent flow maximizes oxygen transfer.
Tracheal Systems
Many terrestrial animals have their respiratory surfaces inside the body and connected to the outside
by a series of tubes.Tracheae are these tubes that carry air directly to cells for gas exchange.
Spiracles are openings at the body surface that lead to tracheae that branch into smaller tubes known
as tracheoles. Body movements or contractions speed up the rate of diffusion of gases from tracheae
into body cells.
Lungs
Lungs are ingrowths of the body wall and connect to the outside by as series of tubes and small
openings. Lung breathing probably evolved about 400 million years ago. Lungs are not entirely the
sole property of vertebrates, some terrestrial snails have a gas exchange structures similar to those in
frogs.
Respiratory System Principles

- Movement of an oxygen-containing medium so it contacts a moist membrane overlying blood
vessels.
- Diffusion of oxygen from the medium into the blood.
- Transport of oxygen to the tissues and cells of the body.
- Diffusion of oxygen from the blood into cells.
- Carbon dioxide follows a reverse path.
The Human Respiratory System

Air enters the body through the nose, is warmed, filtered, and passed through the nasal cavity. Air
passes the pharynx (which has the epiglottis that prevents food from entering the trachea).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. After passing the larynx, the air moves into the bronchi that carry air in and out
of the lungs.
Bronchi are reinforced to prevent their collapse and are lined with ciliated epithelium and mucus-
producing cells. Bronchi branch into smaller and smaller tubes known as bronchioles. Bronchioles
terminate in grape-like sac clusters known as alveoli. Alveoli are surrounded by a network of thin-
walled capillaries. Only about 0.2 µm separate the alveoli from the capillaries due to the extremely thin
walls of both structures.
The lungs are large, lobed, paired organs in the chest (also known as the thoracic cavity). Thin sheets
of epithelium (pleura) separate the inside of the chest cavity from the outer surface of the lungs. The
bottom of the thoracic cavity is formed by the diaphragm.
Ventilation is the mechanics of breathing in and out. When you inhale, muscles in the chest wall
contract, lifting the ribs and pulling them, outward. The diaphragm at this time moves downward
enlarging the chest cavity. Reduced air pressure in the lungs causes air to enter the lungs. Exhaling
reverses theses steps.
Inhalation and exhalation. Image from Purves et al., Life: The Science of Biology, 4th Edition, by
Sinauer Associates (www.sinauer.com) and WH Freeman (www.whfreeman.com), used with
permission.
Diseases of the Respiratory System | Back to Top
The Alveoli and Gas Exchange

Diffusion is the movement of materials from a higher to a lower concentration. Respiratory pigments
increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Humans have the red-colored pigment hemoglobin
as their respiratory pigment. Hemoglobin increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood between
65 and 70 times. Oxygen concentration in cells is low (when leaving the lungs blood is 97% saturated
with oxygen), so oxygen diffuses from the blood to the cells when it reaches the capillaries. Carbon
dioxide concentration in metabolically active cells is much greater than in capillaries, so carbon dioxide
diffuses from the cells into the capillaries. Water in the blood combines with carbon dioxide to form
bicarbonate. This removes the carbon dioxide from the blood so diffusion of even more carbon dioxide
from the cells into the capillaries continues yet still manages to "package" the carbon dioxide for
eventual passage out of the body.
Control of Respiration
Muscular contraction and relaxation controls the rate of expansion and constriction of the lungs. These
muscles are stimulated by nerves that carry messages from the part of the brain that controls
breathing, the medulla. Two systems control breathing: an automatic response and a voluntary
response. Both are involved in holding your breath.
Although the automatic breathing regulation system allows you to breathe while you sleep, it
sometimes malfunctions. Apnea involves stoppage of breathing for as long as 10 seconds, in some
individuals as often as 300 times per night. This failure to respond to elevated blood levels of carbon
dioxide may result from viral infections of the brain, tumors, or it may develop spontaneously. A
malfunction of the breathing centers in newborns may result in SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
Source: The On-Line Biology Book, Michael J. Farabee

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THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

Bodies and Respiration

The Body Surface

Respiratory System Principles

The Human Respiratory System

The Alveoli and Gas Exchange

Source: The On-Line Biology Book, Michael J. Farabee

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