Discussion 11.1: Structure and Function of the Respiratory System

Discussion 11.1: Structure and Function of the Respiratory System

Discussion 11.1: Structure and Function of the Respiratory System

Value: 10 points

Introduction

Two-week-old Tabitha has infant respiratory distress syndrome. Eighty-year-old Anthony has emphysema, and 50-year-old Jenny has pulmonary fibrosis.

Discussion Guidelines

Initial Post

In your initial post, explain why the mechanics of breathing are greatly compromised in each case.

Response Post(s)

ORDER A CUSTOMIZED, PLAGIARISM-FREE Discussion 11.1: Structure and Function of the Respiratory System HERE

Thanks for stopping by this assessment. We can assist you in completing it and other subsequent ones. Our expert writers will comprehensively review instructions, synthesize external evidence sources, and customize an A-grade paper for YOU!!!

Reply to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts by Sunday.

Submission

Post your initial and follow up responses and review full grading criteria on the Discussion 11.1: Structure and Function of the Respiratory System page.

Week 11: Respiratory Physiology

Welcome to Week 11. This week, we continue our journey through the organ systems in the human body with a stop-off at the respiratory system. Background material on the respiratory system is presented this week, while disease states that are associated with the respiratory system will be covered next week.

The respiratory system material begins with the Fick equation, which you should make sure to know, and lists the functions of the lung, which go beyond gas exchange. The gas laws are provided, with Dalton’s and Henry’s being very important. You should understand the key respiratory parameters, including the concentration of the gases, partial pressures of the gases, and solubility of the gases, recalling that CO2 is 20–25 times more soluble than O2.

The morphology of the respiratory system, including the muscles that are involved in respiration, is presented, followed by the pulmonary volumes and capacities. Blood flow and pressure to the lung is provided; you should pay attention to the zonal distribution of blood flow, as well as how blood pressures stay the same to the lung when blood flow increases. You will need to be able to describe pulmonary capillary exchange of fluid and understand the importance of the negative interstitial hydrostatic pressure to prevent pulmonary edema. The next content focuses on the movement of the gases and the factors that affect their movement. Finally, control of breathing by specific neuronal areas is presented, as is a discussion of the chemosensitive areas that provide input to the neuronal tracts.

This week we have a single lesson on the structure and function of the respiratory system. You will need to understand the lung morphology, movement of air or gases into or out of the lung, diffusion of gases into or out of the blood, carrying of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood to and away from the systemic tissues, and control of breathing.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Diffusion and Gas Properties

List the Fick equation and understand the importance of this equation as related to the diffusion of gases and disease states that may alter parameters in the equation

Describe the basic properties of gases in relation to their partial pressures and their pressures in relation to volume and temperature

Respiratory Morphology and Air Movement

Describe the mammalian blood-gas interface

Trace the movement of air through the airways, beginning in the nose and oropharynx and moving into the respiratory tissues of the lung

State the difference between the conducting and the respiratory airways

Describe the muscles involved in air movement during the inspiratory and expiratory phases

Define intrathoracic, intrapleural, and intra-alveolar pressures, and understand how each of these pressures changes in relation to atmospheric pressure during inspiration and expiration

Spirometry

Delineate on a spirometry record the four volumes and capacities that can be discerned on the trace

Differentiate between pulmonary and alveolar ventilation

Pulmonary Blood Flow

Describe blood flow to the lungs in terms of pressures

Understand the concept of hypoxic vasoconstriction

Air and Blood Flow

Compare and contrast atmospheric gas and alveolar gas in terms of specific partial pressures of each gas

Define the diffusing capacity of a respiratory membrane

Explain why ventilation and perfusion must be matched

Cite the difference between dead air space and shunt

Oxygen Dissociation Curves

ORDER A CUSTOMIZED, PLAGIARISM-FREE Discussion 11.1: Structure and Function of the Respiratory System HERE

Explain the significance of a shift to the right and a shift to the left in the oxygen–hemoglobin dissociation curve

Control of Breathing

Compare the neural control of the respiratory muscles, which control breathing, with that of cardiac muscle, which controls the pumping action of the heart

Breathing in Unique Environments

Understand breathing in unique environments and how atmospheric oxygen levels can change

Before attempting to complete your learning activities for this week, review the following learning materials:

Learning Materials

Read the following in your Porth’s Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States textbook:

Chapter 29, “Structure and Function of the Respiratory System”

Note that the presentation materials do not follow linearly from that presented in the chapter.