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Field notes · chapter 47

The Respiratory System

pp. 1044–1062 · Raven Part VII

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Key terms

58 terms
External respiration§47.1
Ventilation — moving air or water past the respiratory membrane
Internal respiration§47.1
Transport of O₂ and CO₂ in blood between respiratory organs and tissues
Fick's Law of Diffusion§47.1
R = D·A·Δp/d — rate rises with area and pressure difference, falls with distance
Diffusion constant (D)§47.1
Accounts for molecule size, membrane permeability, and temperature
Gills§47.2
Tissue extensions projecting into water to increase exchange surface area
External gills§47.2
Gills not enclosed by body structures; easily damaged, must be waved constantly
Branchial chamber§47.2
Protected chamber that pumps water past stationary gills
Mantle cavity§47.2
Mollusk chamber housing gills; water in via inhalant siphon, out via exhalant siphon
Operculum§47.2
Gill cover of bony fishes; acts as part of the pumping system
Ram ventilation§47.2
Swimming with the mouth ajar to force water over the gills (tuna, remora)
Gill arch / filament / lamella§47.2
Three levels of gill structure; lamellae are the actual exchange plates
Countercurrent flow§47.2
Blood flowing opposite to water, keeping a positive O₂ gradient the entire length
Concurrent flow§47.2
Blood and water in the same direction; both equalize near 50% and diffusion stops
Neuroepithelial cells§47.2
Oxygen-sensing chemoreceptors in fish gills
Cutaneous respiration§47.2
Gas exchange across moist, highly vascularized skin
Tracheae / tracheoles§47.2
Branched cuticle-lined air tubes of arthropods, delivering air straight to cells
Spiracles§47.2
Valved exoskeletal openings admitting air to the tracheal system
Partial pressure§47.3
The share of total gas pressure contributed by one gas
Positive pressure breathing§47.3
Pushing air into the lungs, as amphibians do with the mouth floor
Negative pressure breathing§47.3
Expanding the chest so atmospheric pressure pushes air in
Glottis§47.3
Opening between the vocal cords into the trachea
Trachea§47.3
Windpipe held open by C-shaped cartilage rings
Bronchi / bronchioles§47.3
Branching airways delivering air from trachea to alveoli
Alveoli§47.3
Grapelike sacs, one cell thick, where all gas exchange occurs; ~300 million per lung
Parabronchi§47.3
One-way air vessels of the bird lung where exchange occurs
Anterior / posterior air sacs§47.3
Bird structures producing unidirectional flow across two breathing cycles
Crosscurrent flow§47.3
Blood at 90° to airflow in the avian lung
Visceral pleural membrane§47.4
Thin membrane covering the outside of each lung
Parietal pleural membrane§47.4
Membrane lining the inner thoracic wall
Pleural cavity§47.4
Fluid-filled space coupling lung to chest wall
Diaphragm§47.4
Striated sheet between thorax and abdomen; flattens to inhale
External intercostal muscles§47.4
Muscles between ribs that raise the rib cage during inhalation
Tidal volume§47.4
Air moved per resting breath, about 500 mL
Anatomical dead space§47.4
The ~150 mL in conducting airways where no gas exchange happens
Inspiratory reserve volume§47.4
Air that can be inhaled beyond a normal breath
Expiratory reserve volume§47.4
Air that can be forced out beyond a normal breath
Vital capacity§47.4
Tidal + IRV + ERV; ~4.6 L young men, ~3.1 L young women
Residual volume§47.4
Air that can never be exhaled; prevents lung collapse
Hypoventilation§47.4
Breathing too little, so blood P_CO₂ rises
Hyperventilation§47.4
Breathing beyond metabolic need, so blood P_CO₂ falls
Respiratory control center§47.4
Neurons of the medulla oblongata and pons that initiate each breath
Aortic and carotid bodies§47.4
Peripheral chemoreceptors sensing falling blood pH
Central chemoreceptors§47.4
Brain receptors sensing cerebrospinal fluid pH
Mountain sickness§47.4
Headache, nausea, weakness and impaired thinking from low P_O₂ at altitude
COPD§47.4
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema
Emphysema§47.4
Alveolar walls break down; fewer, larger alveoli and stiff, fibrotic lungs
Hemoglobin§47.5
Four chains (2α, 2β), each with an iron-containing heme; carries up to 4 O₂
Oxyhemoglobin§47.5
Hemoglobin loaded with oxygen; bright red
Deoxyhemoglobin§47.5
Hemoglobin after unloading oxygen; darker red
Hemocyanin§47.5
Copper-based oxygen carrier of mollusks and arthropods, free in the fluid
Hemerythrin§47.5
Iron-based oxygen carrier found mainly in several worm phyla
Myoglobin§47.5
Single-chain muscle oxygen store with higher affinity than hemoglobin
Oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve§47.5
Plot of saturation against P_O₂; shows how much O₂ is unloaded
Bohr effect§47.5
Low pH lowers hemoglobin O₂ affinity, shifting the curve right
Carbonic anhydrase§47.5
Red blood cell enzyme catalyzing CO₂ + H₂O → H₂CO₃
Carbaminohemoglobin§47.5
CO₂ bound to hemoglobin protein (not the iron), so it does not compete with O₂
Chloride shift§47.5
One Cl⁻ enters the red blood cell for each HCO₃⁻ that leaves
Carbon monoxide§47.5
Binds hemoglobin far more tightly than O₂; poisoning gives bright red skin