Homeostatic Control of Breathing and Gas Exchange

Vocabulary flashcards covering the physiological mechanisms of breathing control, pulmonary and tissue gas exchange, gas transport pathways in the blood, and basic facts about Tuberculosis.

Medulla oblongata

The region of the brain that responds to rising $CO_2$ levels in the blood by increasing both heart rate and breathing rate.

Homeostatic control of breathing

The process where strenuous activity increases energy demands, prompting the medulla oblongata to increase heart and breathing rates to take up more $O_2$ and expire more $CO_2$.

Gaseous exchange in the lungs

The diffusion process where $O_2$ dissolves in the layer of moisture lining the alveolus and diffuses into the capillaries, while $CO_2$ diffuses from the capillaries into the alveolus.

Oxyhaemoglobin

A loose combination formed inside erythrocytes (red blood corpuscles) when oxygen combines with haemoglobin.

Erythrocytes

Red blood corpuscles containing haemoglobin that bind with oxygen to transport approximately 98.5\text{\textpercent} of oxygen in the blood.

Gaseous exchange at the tissues

The diffusion process where oxygen diffuses from capillary blood into tissue fluid and cells, while $CO_2$ produced by cellular respiration diffuses from cells into tissue fluid and capillary blood.

Blood plasma

The liquid component of blood that transports about 1.5\text{\textpercent} of oxygen in a dissolved state and about 7\text{\textpercent} of carbon dioxide in a dissolved state.

Carbhaemoglobin

The compound formed when approximately 23\text{\textpercent} of carbon dioxide combines with haemoglobin in the blood.

Bicarbonate ions

The primary form in which carbon dioxide is transported by the blood, accounting for approximately 70\text{\textpercent} of carbon dioxide transport.

Tuberculosis (TB)

An infection capable of attacking various body parts, confirmed using X-rays and TB skin tests, with symptoms such as fever, chills, weight loss, loss of appetite, chest pains, and a bad cough.