Comprehensive Respiratory System Functions and Anatomy: Key Concepts and Processes

What are the functions of the respiratory system?

Providing for speech, maintaining the acid-base balance of the blood, temperature homeostasis, assisting in blood pressure regulation.

What are the hollow passages through which air enters the lungs?

The respiratory tract.

What are the grapelike clusters where the respiratory tract terminates?

Alveoli.

What encases the lungs?

Pleural membranes.

What type of cartilage does the trachea contain?

C-shaped rings of hyaline cartilage.

What do goblet cells secrete into the respiratory tract?

Mucus.

How many pieces of cartilage form the framework of the larynx?

Nine pieces.

What is the largest cartilage in the larynx?

Thyroid cartilage.

What does the pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium of the respiratory tract do?

Warms, filters, and humidifies the inspired air.

What does the epiglottis do during swallowing?

Covers the glottis.

What are the structures that vibrate to produce sound called?

True vocal cords (or vocal folds).

What produces a higher-pitched sound in vocal cords?

Adduction of the vocal cords.

What produces a lower-pitched sound in vocal cords?

Abduction of the vocal cords.

What structural change does not occur as we progress down the bronchial tree?

More goblet cells.

Which cells secrete surfactant in the alveoli?

Type II alveolar cells.

What constitutes 90% of the total cells in the alveoli?

Type I alveolar cells.

What must the respiratory membrane be to function effectively in gas exchange?

Thin.

What is the functional residual capacity?

The volume of air normally left in the lungs after a tidal expiration.

What is the tidal volume?

The amount of air left in the lungs after maximal expiration.

What is the inspiratory capacity equal to?

The inspiratory reserve volume plus the tidal volume.

What does not affect the efficiency of pulmonary gas exchange?

The percent saturation of hemoglobin.

What does Henry's law state about gas dissolution?

It is determined by its partial pressure and solubility.

What happens when the alveolar Po2 decreases?

The pulmonary arterioles constrict.

How is oxygen primarily transported in the blood?

By binding to hemoglobin.

How many oxygen molecules can each hemoglobin protein carry?

Up to four.

What is the main way carbon dioxide is transported in the blood?

Bicarbonate ion.

What is hemoglobin?

A protein that transports oxygen in the blood.

What decreases hemoglobin's affinity for oxygen?

BPG.

What does carbonic anhydrase do?

Catalyzes the conversion of carbon dioxide and water into carbonic acid.

What is the chloride shift?

The movement of anions into the erythrocytes to balance the outward movement of bicarbonate.

What is carbaminohemoglobin?

Hemoglobin bound to carbon dioxide.

What is the movement of anions into the erythrocyte balancing?

The outward movement of bicarbonate.

What is hemoglobin bound to carbon dioxide called?

Carbaminohemoglobin.

What enzyme catalyzes the conversion of carbon dioxide and water into carbonic acid?

Carbonic anhydrase.

What protein transports oxygen in the blood?

Hemoglobin.

What substance decreases hemoglobin's affinity for oxygen?

2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (BPG).

What happens to blood pH during hyperventilation?

It increases.

What happens to blood pH during hypoventilation?

It decreases.

What maintains the basic rhythm for breathing?

The respiratory pattern generator of the medulla.

Which group of neurons stimulates the diaphragm and intercostal muscles?

The ventral respiratory group.

What do central chemoreceptors respond to?

Arterial Pco2 and hydrogen ions.

What do peripheral chemoreceptors respond to?

Arterial Po2.

What is a false statement about COPD?

Cigarette smoking only marginally increases the risk of lung cancer.

What happens to pressure inside a cylinder if you decrease its volume?

The pressure increases.

What happens if you swallow food without chewing it?

Discomfort during ventilation due to esophagus pushing into trachea.

What happens to tidal volume if the phrenic nerves are severed?

It decreases dramatically.

Why is epiglottitis considered an emergency?

It can seal off the larynx during ventilation.

What happens to blood pH when a person hyperventilates?

It increases due to loss of carbon dioxide.

Why might breathing into a paper bag help during hyperventilation?

It allows rebreathing of carbon dioxide to normalize pH.

What are the advantages of training at high altitudes?

Higher erythrocytes and BPG levels increase oxygen carrying capacity.

Why did your friend win the breath-holding contest after hyperventilating?

Lower carbon dioxide levels reduced stimulation of chemoreceptors.

What happens to blood pH during prolonged vomiting?

It increases due to loss of hydrogen ions.

What would a person suffering from prolonged vomiting likely do?

Hypoventilate to retain carbon dioxide.

What is diabetic ketoacidosis?

Accumulation of ketones due to excessive fat catabolism.

What type of diabetes is likely in a person with diabetic ketoacidosis?

Type I diabetes mellitus.

What happens to blood pH in diabetic ketoacidosis?

It decreases due to ketone accumulation.

Why does a person with diabetic ketoacidosis hyperventilate?

To blow off carbon dioxide and reduce blood acidity.

What happens to the metabolic rate of skeletal muscle during exercise?

It increases.

What happens to the metabolic rate of skeletal muscle tissue during exercise?

The rate of ATP production increases during exercise to meet the demands of the contracting muscle fibers.

What waste product is produced from ATP production during exercise?

Carbon dioxide.

How does accumulated carbon dioxide affect ventilation during exercise?

It triggers the central chemoreceptors to increase the rate of ventilation to rid the body of carbon dioxide.

What effect do obstructive diseases have on residual volume?

They increase the residual volume.

Why does an increase in residual volume decrease vital capacity?

Because total lung capacity is equal to residual volume plus vital capacity.

What type of lung disease is characterized by increased airway resistance and decreased efficiency of expiration?

Restrictive lung disease.

Why are influenza vaccines given annually?

Because the influenza virus has a high rate of mutation.

Which steps of respiration rely on partial pressure gradient?

Both pulmonary gas exchange and tissue gas exchange.

Which structure is part of the upper respiratory system?

Larynx.

Which of the following is not a function of the respiratory system?

Moves nutrients and wastes around the body.

What happens if the structures of the respiratory zone are blocked?

Air will still reach the lungs through the conducting zone.

What sound is produced when the vocal ligaments are adducted?

A higher pitch sound.

How many lobes does the left lung have?

Two lobes.

What type of blood do bronchial arteries carry?

Oxygenated blood.

What happens to gas pressure as the volume of a container decreases?

The pressure increases.

Which situation will not affect pulmonary compliance?

A patient choking on a pill.

What is Melvin Gartner's vital capacity if his tidal volume is 400 ml, inspiratory reserve volume is 3050 ml, and expiratory reserve volume is 350 ml?

4100 ml.

Why is there more carbon dioxide dissolved in plasma than oxygen?

Carbon dioxide is more soluble in water than oxygen.

What happens to pulmonary gas exchange efficiency if the surface area for gas exchange decreases?

It becomes less efficient.

How do toxins in cigarette smoke affect tissue gas exchange?

They make tissue gas exchange less efficient.

How is the majority of oxygen transported in blood?

Bound to hemoglobin.

What happens to carbon dioxide levels in the blood during hyperventilation?

They decrease.

What effect does fever have on the unloading of oxygen from hemoglobin?

It makes oxygen unloading easier.

What happens to intrapulmonary pressure during inspiration if atmospheric pressure is 720 mm Hg?

It decreases.

What is the intrapleural pressure between breaths if atmospheric pressure is 760 mm Hg?

756 mm Hg.

According to Boyle's law, what happens to gas pressure as volume decreases?

The pressure increases.

What happens to the diaphragm during inspiration?

It contracts and flattens.

Why is gas exchange very efficient?

Because of the pressure gradients that exist.

What happens to the partial pressure of oxygen in the alveoli at higher altitudes?

It decreases.

What effect does decreased alveolar partial pressure of oxygen have on oxygen diffusion into the blood?

It decreases diffusion.

According to Henry's law, which partial pressure results in the most carbon dioxide dissolved in blood?

Pco2 = 45 mm Hg.

What type of blood arrives at the lungs via the pulmonary arterial circulation?

Deoxygenated blood.

What happens to oxygen diffusion into blood when there is a loss of alveoli due to emphysema?

It becomes less efficient.

What do metabolically active tissues produce more of compared to resting tissues?

More carbon dioxide and use up more oxygen.

How do values of Po2 and Pco2 change in a metabolically active tissue?

Po2 decreases and Pco2 increases.

What happens to Po2 and Pco2 in metabolically active tissue?

Po2 decreases and Pco2 increases.

What effect does increased diffusion have in metabolically active tissue?

Gas exchange becomes faster and more efficient.

Where does carbon dioxide diffuse during tissue gas exchange?

From tissue to blood.

When does diffusion of oxygen into tissues stop?

When blood Po2 equals tissue Po2.

What is part of the upper respiratory tract?

Larynx.

What is the primary function of the respiratory zone?

Gas exchange.

What process involves the movement of air in and out of the lungs?

Pulmonary ventilation.