Chapter 1 Respiration

1.1 The Human Breathing Mechanism

Breathing-Takes in oxygen and releases carbon dioxide (exchange of gases)

Human respiratory system:

-two lungs (left and right) -the lungs consist mainly of air spaces -The lungs are situated in the thoracic cavity -The intercostal muscles are situated between the ribs

The structure of the lungs

The Breathing Mechanism: -Breathing involves inhalation and exhalation -The intercostal muscles contract and relax to rise and lower the ribs during breathing -The diaphragm changes the air pressure in the thoracic cavity by increasing or decreasing the volume of the thoracic cavity

Comparing inhalation and exhalation

Activity: Building a Functional Model of the Human Respiratory System

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Aim: To show the relationship between the air pressure in the thoracic cavity and the processes of inhalation and exhalation

Discussion: -The bell jar represents the rib cage/ thoracic cavity -The Y-shaped glass tube represents the trachea and the bronchi -The balloons represents the lungs -The rubber sheet represents the diaphragm -When the rubber sheet is pulled downwards, the air pressure inside the bell jar is lowered, the balloons expand (represents the inhalation process) -When the rubber sheet is pushed upwards, the air pressure inside the bell jar increased, the balloons contract (represents the exhalation process)

Breathing differs from respiration. Breathing only takes place in the lungs whereas respiration takes place in every cell of the body Breathing involves gaseous exhange whereas respiration is an energy producing process from the food

1.2

The Transport of Oxygen In The Human Body

-Involved three processes: (a) The diffusion of oxygen from the alveoli into the blood capillaries (b)The transport of oxygen by the red blood cell (c)The diffusion of oxygen from the blood capillaries into the cells

(a) The Diffusion of Oxygen from the Alveoli into the Blood

Capillaries

Inhaled air ends up in the lungs Inhaled air has a higher oxygen concentration compared to the blood that flows to the lungs This causes the oxygen that reaches the alveoli to move into the surrounding blood capillaries through diffusion This process is reversed for carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide diffuses from the blood capillary to the alveolus The wall of the alveolus and the wall of the blood capillary are only one cell thick
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This enables diffusion to take place efficiently There are three factors that enable the diffusion to occur efficientlly (i) (ii) (iii) The alveoli are surrounded with a large number of blood capillaries The alveoli have large surface area The walls of the alveoli are always moist

The diffusion of oxygen from an alveolus into a blood capilary

Exhange of gases in alveolus

(b) The Transport of Oxygen In The Red Blood Cell -

Upon entering the blood, the oxygen combines easily with the haemoglobin in the red blood cells to form oxyhaemoglobin Oxygen + haemoglobin oxyhaemoglobin

(c) The Diffusion of Oxygen From The Blood Capillaries Into The cells Blood leaving the lungs is carried to the heart From the heart, the blood is pumped and sent to the cells in every part of our body Blood from the heart to the cells of the body has a higher concentration of oxygen When the blood flows through blood capillaries, oxyhaemoglobin breaks down into haemoglobin and oxygen The oxygen released then diffuses into the cells The concentration of oxygen in blood capillaries is higher than the concentration of oxygen in the cells This enable the process of difussion to occur easily

1.3

The Importance Of A Healthy Respiratory System

Examples of substances that are harmful to our respiratory system are : - nicotine (from the smoke of cigarettes) Causes addicition to smoking -Tar (from the smoke of cigarettes) -Sticks to the inside of the lungs and make the walls of the alveoli get thicker, oxygen becomes more difficult to diffuse Carcinogen and causes lung cancer - sulphur dioxide (from factories and industry) Acidic, damage lung tissues, irritate the air passage of the respiratory system -carbon monoxide (from smoke of vehicles and cigarettes) Highly poisonous, combines with haemoglobin at least 200 times easier than Oxygen, reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood, death may ensure -haze (industry, vehicles, open burning) Irritates the air passage of our respiratory system and damage the lungs, causes
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breathing difficulties, asthma and pneumonia

Diseases That Affect The Repiratory System:

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Bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis and lung cancer Causes of such diseases include cigarette smoking , exposure to air pollutants, bacterail infection and viral infection Most of the diseases that can affect the respiratory system such as bronchitis, emphysema and lung cancer can be prevented by not smoking

The effect of smoking on the lungs

Observations: Effect of cigarette Temperature Colourof cotton wool Colour of universal indicator
Discussion The increase in the thermometer reading shows that cigarette smoke contains heat. The heat can dry up the lungs The change in the colour of the universal indicator from green to yellow shows that cigarette smoke is acidic The colour of the white cotton wool changes to brown because cigarette smoke contains tar. This can blacken and damage the lungs

Beginning of experiment 28oC White Green

End of experiment 30 oC Brownish Yellow

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Extra: Lung emphysema Abnormal growth in the cells that lines the tiny air channels in the lung causing this channels to become blocked The growth of these abnormal cells is caused by certain chemical substances found in cigarette smoke This growth causes carbon dioxide to be trapped in the alveoli Eventually, the alveoli in the lungs swell and burst, leaving large spaces in the lungs The bursting of the alveolus wall reduces the surface area of the lungs that can be used for gaseous exchange The bursting of the alveolus cannot be repaired The symptoms are: breathing difficulty, tiredness and excessive coughing

Bronchitis Inflammation of the epithelium of the bronchus Bronchitis is caused by fine particles that float in the air or that are found in cigarette smoke The breathing channel of the patient will be filled with mucus The symptoms are: high fever, breathing difficulty, chest pains, contiouous heavy coughing, patients phlegm changes colour from white to yellow or green, tiredness and weight loss

Lung Cancer Unusual cell growths in the lungs Smoking is the major cause of lung cancer Lung cancer does not normally show any symptoms at the early stage

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The symptoms are: continuous heavy coughing, coughing with blood, weight loss, loss of appetite, breathing difficulty, fever, wheezing, chest pains Asthma Caused by the inflammation of the breathing channel The breathing channel of the patient suddenly becomes narrow causing difficulty in breathing This is because the patients breathing channel is very sensitive to certain allergens The symptoms are: coughing, especially at night or during cold weather, breathing difficulty, wheezing, tighness in the chest

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