Respiratory System Flashcards
True or False: the epiglottis alternates covering the esophagus and trachea to ensure air goes down the trachea and food down the esophagus
False. The epiglottis is a flap of cartilaginous tissue that covers and protects only the trachea when swallowing food, shunting food toward the esophagus, but it opens up to allow air to pass into the trachea during breathing.
Larynx
The larynx is a structure found in the trachea that houses the vocal cords. The vocal cords vibrate when air moves over them, like our very own string instrument, and they’re consciously controlled during speaking and singing. Larynx is for language
Where in the respiratory system are surfactants mainly found?
Alveoli are somewhat delicate structures, and in fact, the surface tension of the liquid lining alveoli would normally cause them to collapse on themselves. Fortunately however, alveoli are coated in a layer of surfactant, which breaks up and reduces surface tension, keeping alveoli open for business.
Which part of the respiratory system causes inhalation to always be an active process?
The diaphragm which is a muscle beneath the lungs which contracts during inhalation, moving downward and causing the thoracic cavity to expand, which ultimately causes the lungs to expand and air to rush in to maintain an equilibrium with ambient air pressure. Muscle contraction requires ATP so it is an active process.The intercostal muscles do not have an active role in inhalation. Intercostal muscles may contract during exhalation to more forcefully expel air but they are not necessary for exhalation either. Exhalation can be an active or passive process.
True or false: breathing is voluntary
False- it is both voluntary and involuntary. Breathing is an active process because ATP is required for the diaphragm to contract and initiate inhalation. Breathing can be under voluntary or under involuntary control by the respiratory center in the medulla oblongata of the brain stem.
True or false: The respiratory system is part of the innate immune system.
This statement is true. The respiratory tract has a host of mechanisms that act quickly and nonspecifically against a wide range of microbes and particles. Hairs in the nasal cavity and mucus from the respiratory tract stop pathogens in their tracks, trapping microbes and particulate matter that can be expelled either by sneezing or by cilia pushing mucus upward to be coughed out or swallowed. The respiratory tract also produces its own antimicrobial proteins, called defensins, that have broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. This is part of the reason why we don’t get sick as often as we could, and why those with certain respiratory illnesses tend to be significantly more susceptible to infection.
Where are these found: Ciliated epithelial cells
Ciliated epithelial cells line the trachea,
Where are these found: Goblet cells
goblet cells are found (amongst other places) in the nasal cavity and trachea
Where are these found: Defensins
defensins are found within the bronchi.
How does oxygen differ from carbon dioxide?
Oxygen binds to a carrier protein, hemoglobin, in order to travel through the circulatory system because oxygen does not dissolve well in the bloodstream. Carbon dioxide on the other hand, reacts with water to form carbonic acid and participates in an equilibrium between carbonic acid and bicarbonate ions, and largely travels through the bloodstream in the form of bicarbonate.
What intervention will correct a blood pH of 7.2?
Hyperventilating, or rapid breathing, will cause the concentration of carbon dioxide in the body to decrease because it is being expelled more rapidly from rapid exhalation. Less carbon dioxide means less carbonic acid so there will be fewer protons in the bloodstream and the pH will increase.
Place the following in the correct order from outside to the lungs: Larynx Pharynx Trachea Epiglottis Nares
Nares
Pharynx
Epiglottis
Larynx
Trachea
True or false: the trachea is lined with villi and microvilli
Villi and microvilli are found in the intestines and do NOT produce movement. They are simply folds in the lumenal intestinal walls that increase surface area to maximize absorption efficiency. The second part of this answer choice is correct- the trachea is lined with mucus producing goblet cells that will trap bacteria and other particles to prevent them from entering the lungs.
Describe the divisions of the trachea?
The trachea splits into two main bronchi, which further branch into many bronchioles. Then you have alveloi.
True or False: The epiglottis opens up to allow air to pass into the trachea during breathing. The air then passes the pharynx, which contains the vocal cords. The vocal cords vibrate when air moves over them, like our very own string instrument, and they’re consciously controlled during speaking and singing.
The epiglottis opens up to allow air to pass into the trachea during breathing. The air then passes the larynx, which contains the vocal cords. The vocal cords vibrate when air moves over them, like our very own string instrument, and they’re consciously controlled during speaking and singing.
True or false: The sounds produced by the vocal cords in the larynx are a passive phenomenon that occurs whenever air moves into or out of the lungs.
This statement is false. The sounds produced by the vocal cords in the larynx are not a passive phenomenon. The vocal cords in the larynx are under deliberate, conscious control to create the sounds we make to communicate.
How do goblet cells help in immunity?
Goblet cells in the trachea produce mucus to trap airborne bacteria. The bacteria filled mucus is then moved up and out of the trachea by ciliated epithelial cells lining the lumen of the trachea.
True or False: part of the lungs immune defense, the capillaries are lined with antibodies
false- proteins are too large to diffuseacross membranes so it does not make sense to have antibodies “waiting” in the capillaries surrounding the alveoli for an antigen to diffuse across the alveolar wall and into the bloodstream.
True or False: gas exchange is an active process
False, it is passive. the gases move down their concentration gradients
Describe gas exchange in the alveoli
Gas exchange across the alveoli occurs via passive diffusion for both carbon dioxide and oxygen. Carbon dioxide moves out of the bloodstream and into the alveoli to be expelled by the body during exhalation. Oxygen moves out of the alveoli and into the bloodstream where it is transported by its carrier protein, hemoglobin, throughout the body to be consumed by cells.
True or False: Surfactants increase the surface tension of alveoli to maintain alveolar structure
This statement is false. Surfactant decreases the surface tension of the liquid that lines the alveoli. Without surfactant, the surface tension from the liquid would cause the delicate walls of the alveoli to collapse in on themselves.
Describe the process of negative pressure breathing
During inhalation, the muscular diaphragm beneath the lungs contracts, moving downward and causing the thoracic cavity to expand. As the thoracic cavity expands, the space in the pleural cavity increases, and, since volume and pressure have an inverse relationship, this results in reduced pressure in the pleural cavity. In general, gases like to equalize pressures between regions of space to maintain equilibrium, so in order to shrink the space in the pleural cavity and elevate its pressure, the lungs must expand. Increased lung volume, again, reduces the alveolar pressure, which causes air to flood the lungs to maintain equilibrium with ambient air pressure. This is called negative-pressure breathing, not because the absolute pressure inside the lungs becomes negative, but rather it becomes negative relative to ambient air pressure, forcing air to follow its pressure gradient to equalize pressures between the lungs and external air.
defined as the normal volume of air moved with each breathing cycle.
Tidal Volume
The volume of air that is not exhaled during normal breathing but it could be exhaled via active exhalation during strenuous exercise.
The expiratory reserve volume
