1.

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
a. Gases exchange and respiration
i. Uptake of oxygen and the discharge of carbon dioxide
ii. Involves both circulatory and respiratory systems
iii. Can happen through different mediums
1. Air (for terrestrial mammals)
2. Water (for aquatic mammals)
b. Lungs
i. Found in all higher order terrestrial mammals
ii. Provide an advantage for air respiration over aquatic respiration
1. Air has a higher oxygen concentration
2. Air diffuses oxygen and carbon dioxide faster than water
iii. Invaginated (curled into itself, like mitochondria) respiratory
surfaces are restricted to one location which is where oxygen is
transported to by the Cardiovascular system
iv. In amphibians, the lungs are smaller because gas exchange also is
carried out by diffusing across the skin
v. Birds, most reptiles, mammals all rely on lungs for respiration and
gas exchange
c. Human Respiratory System
i. Air enters nose and passes through the pharynx and larynx
1. Pharynx: nasal cavity
2. Larynx: vocal chords or voice box
ii. Enters the trachea (windpipe)
1. In the trachea, there is a covering called the epiglottis, which
closes when a human swallows so that the food or liquid will
not enter the lungs
iii. Trachea branches into two bronchi, which enter the lungs and
branch into bronchioles
1. Ciliated mucous-coated epithelium lines the trachea,
bronchi, and bronchioles
2. This helps protect the cells of the trachea, etc. from becoming
dehydrated, and keeps excess water from entering the lungs
3. The cilia help keep out particulates that are unwanted in the
lungs, which it pushes into the mouth and gets swallowed
iv. Bronchioles end at a cluster of air sacs called the alveoli
1. This is where gas exchange takes place

2. Oxygen diffuses across alveoli into a web of capillaries that

surround each alveolus (through the thin, moist, epithelial
tissue of the alveoli and capillaries)
3. Oxygen rich blood reenters the heart by way of the
pulmonary veins
4. Carbon dioxide also diffuses, but it crosses from the blood
vessels into the alveoli
v. Breathing is alternation of inhaling and exhaling
1. Air is moved in and out of the lungs by changes in the lungs
volumes
2. Air volume is increased by contraction of diaphragm and
intercostal muscles
a. Diaphragm is under the lungs
b. Intercostal muscles are between the ribs
3. This is autonomically controlled by the brain
a. Nerve impulses instruct muscles
b. Drops in blood pH (because of increased carbon
dioxide) makes the neurons signal for the lungs to
breathe more
d. Carbon dioxide transportation
i. 70% of carbon dioxide in the blood is transported as a bicarbonate
ion (HCO3(-)), and not as carbon dioxide gas because the amount of
gas in the blood would cause the vessels to burst under pressure
ii. Carbon dioxide diffuses into interstitial fluid and the into the red
blood cells
iii. Carbon dioxide reacts with the water in the red blood cell to form a
carbonic acid (H2OC3)
iv. Carbonic acid decomposes into a hydrogen ion (H(+)) and the
bicarbonate ion (HCO3(-))
v. The bicarbonate ion moves into plasma for transport to the lungs
vi. Hydrogen ions bind to hemoglobin to regulate the blood pH level
vii. Bicarbonate ion diffuses back into the red blood cell and combines
with the hydrogen ion to become the carbonic acid again
viii. The carbonic acid splits into water and carbon dioxide, which is
then diffused into the alveoli and exhaled